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The Twilight Zone: The Mirror (1961)
"When a man has power, he has enemies"
While Twilight Zone was a show that was known primarily for either fantasy or (more rarely) sci-fi inspired episodes, it did have its fair share of politically oriented installments. You really can't criticize it for taking this path, since (despite what most people believe), the 60s were a hard decade for the US. The episode focuses on one ideology that defined a large part of that decade, even if it's not stated anywhere explicitly: communism. The story begins in an unnamed Central American country, and a dictator named Ramos Clemente (Peter Falk) has just taken control of the government. Based on his beard and military fatigues, Ramos is clearly supposed to represent Fidel Castro. Clemente seizes the country from the previous ruler, General De Cruz, who warns him that he will soon find out why ruling with an iron fist will lead to his own downfall. De Cruz leaves behind his personal mirror, which was given to him by some old woman. He says it has the ability to show the reflections of those who plan to assassinate the current leader, but Clemente thinks this is ridiculous and De Cruz is imprisoned. Soon, Clemente starts using the same tactics that De Cruz did when he was in power, which means executing everyone he thinks is an enemy to either himself or the state. Because of this, his former loyal companions are alienated from him and Clemente sees them plotting to kill him in the mirror, i.e. Holding guns or something like that. He even pushes one of his confidants off a balcony to his death after he sees him holding a pistol in the mirror. Later on, Clemente's policy of killing his rivals causes a stir among his companions, and Clemente orders two other government heads to see how well De Cruz is being guarded. As soon as they leave, he phones the prison and tells them to execute the two guys he just sent over as soon as they arrive. As for the last remaining confidant, Clemente shoots him personally after he sees him offering a supposedly poisoned glass of wine in the mirror. Once all his friends have been disposed of, Clemente falls asleep at his desk, but is awoken by an approaching priest named Father Tomas. Tomas wants Clemente's regime to stop with the constant killing, as he hoped a new leader would signify a departure from De Cruz's policies. Clemente angrily replies that as long as he has enemies, the executions will go on. Tomas tells Clemente that all tyrants think they have accomplished their goal and killed all their adversaries, but there's always one left that they can't see until it's too late. Once he leaves, Clemente looks at the mirror, and sees only himself in it. In frustration, he throws his handgun at it and it breaks. Tomas then hears a gunshot and enters the room again. Clemente lies dead on the floor, killed in a freak accident when his pistol hit the floor and caused it to discharge. Clemente's paranoia was his own worst enemy. Speaking as someone who enjoys history, I still didn't think this episode was that amazing when I first saw it over 3 years ago. Falk delivers a good performance as the imitation of Castro, but there's nothing more to him. The moral about dictators always causing their own destruction is kind of wasted on a show like this, as many brutal leaders did get what they want and only died after executing millions, such as Mao and Stalin. Both these men are still widely venerated in China and Russia, respectively. Ultimately, I feel that the resemblance the main character has to Castro couldn't be more obvious even if there was a giant blinking sign above his head at all times that bore his name. What Serling probably wasn't counting on was the real version living well into the 21st century and finally dying in 2016. Political episodes have been done better by this series.
Human Desire (1954)
"You're not chained to him"
With movies made by Fritz Lang, I can usually be sure that they're going to be a hit even if I have never heard of them. Aside from directing some of the best films of all time such as M and Metropolis, Lang also ventured into noir territory during the late 40s and 50s as the genre was heavily influenced by expressionism hailing from his home country of Germany. After seeing the cast of this movie, there wasn't much doubt as to how good it was going to be: the leading actors are all noir icons, and the ending takes an unexpected path that appears to be culminating in a different direction right up until it actually happens. The film follows a Korean War veteran named Jeff (Glenn Ford) who goes back to his hometown after the war and resumes his life as a train engineer. He works with Alec, another conductor whose daughter Ellen wants to marry Jeff. Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) is a railyard supervisor who likes hard liquor way too much, and gets fired one day for yelling at his boss. He goes home to discuss this with his much younger wife, Vicki (Gloria Grahame). While she is offering to work so that Carl doesn't have to, he says he didn't marry her so she can take care of him. He wants her to call John Owens, a crucial customer of the railroad who used to employ Vicki's mother. Vicki doesn't want to, but agrees, hoping Carl can get rehired. When she eventually comes back, Carl suspects there's something not right since she was gone for over 5 hours. Carl smacks her around and gets her to admit that she was cheating on him with Owens. Enraged, Carl orders his wife to author a letter directed at Owens which states she will meet him in his sleeping car on a train. Vicki is forced by her husband to knock on Owens' door, and as soon as it opens, Vicki is pushed inside by Carl, the latter proceeding to violently murder Owens with a whittling knife. Once Owens is dead, Carl steals his wallet to make the crime look like something it's not, and takes back the letter he made Vicki write just in case he needs to incriminate her. On the train, Vicki also meets Jeff for the first time, and Carl uses the distraction to slip out unseen. At an inquest, Jeff is being questioned about the murder, which the cops are now swarming all over. He is asked to identify any people he saw on the train that night. When asked if he recognizes Vicki, he lies and says he never saw her before. Right after, he and Vicki begin seeing each other behind Carl's back, and Vicki reveals proof that her husband beats her. Jeff puts aside his affection for Ellen so he can be with Vicki. When he next sees her, she says she lied about the circumstances surrounding the killing. Previously, she said Owens was already dead when she went to see him, but now claims her husband forced her to go with him or else she'd be killed. She also can't tell the cops because the letter acts as Carl's trump card; if she tells anyone, he will show the police what she wrote. Because Carl has been holding the letter over her head, Vicki is desperately trying to find it and destroy it, and Jeff offers to help her. After Carl once again loses his job because he can't stop drinking, things become more frantic for Vicki, since she says Carl plans to sell his house and take her to another state with him. Knowing he's running out of time, Jeff searches for Carl near the bar he frequents and finds him stumbling home, deeply intoxicated. Jeff, holding a big wrench, follows Carl into a railyard and closes the distance on him. However, when Jeff returns to Vicki, he tells her the last thing she wants to hear: he didn't murder her husband. A near hopeless Vicki is sickened at Jeff's choice and also really confused, as he used to be a soldier and no doubt killed people. If he could do it on the battlefield, why not back home? Jeff says only a coward attacks something who can't fight back, and does not care that Vicki apparently loves him, as he is able to tell she's been lying about her past with Owens this whole time. After Vicki tells him if he really loved her he would have killed Carl, a disgusted Jeff pulls out the letter (which he retrieved from Carl but didn't rip up), gives it to Vicki and walks out. The next day, Vicki is trying to leave the town alone, but Carl finds out what she is doing and appears in her cabin. Carl even offers to destroy the letter, but Vicki confidently says he doesn't have it anymore. Vicki admits she loves Jeff and wanted him to kill Carl, but Jeff turned her down in the end so it doesn't really matter. Not willing to let this go, Carl chokes Vicki to death in her cabin, while Jeff, operating the train, is happily unaware of what's going on. This is a good movie, but I would expect nothing less from Lang. I feel slightly disappointed with the ending, as I was expecting Vicki to ruin both Jeff and her husband due to playing two of them at the same time, but Jeff was too smart for her and leaves her to her fate. Broderick is one of the best things about this film, as he plays a thuggish drunk addicted to brutality. He is smarter than he looks since he knows holding onto the letter effectively keeps his wife from escaping him, and that's what she wants most. While I won't really get into this argument, you can probably say this counts as an antiwar movie, as Vicki mistakenly believes Jeff has no qualms with gunning down other humans or beating them to death. Glenn Ford's reasoning is somewhat convincing, since it's a lot easier to kill someone when they're hundreds of yards away with a rifle, but doing it up close to a former coworker is a lot more traumatizing. Either way, Gloria (the manipulator of all), Crawford and Glenn make this movie what it is, and Lang once again shows how it's done when it comes to crime films.
Abandoned (1949)
Black market babies
I've been seeing a couple noir movies in the past months that involve kidnapping in some way, and while this was already a pretty taboo subject for a film in this era, this one goes even further and makes the entire plot about it. The movie is pretty confusing but has two good actors, Dennis O'Keefe and Raymond Burr, who do noir better than most in the genre. Before the racketeering and black marketing starts, we see a girl named Paula (Gale Storm) who has arrived in LA trying to locate her sister who's gone missing. Paula's sister had recently had a daughter before her disappearance. A reporter named Mark Sitko (Dennis O'Keefe) offers to help after overhearing Paula's panic inducing situation. As Paula and Mark leave, they run into a private eye named Kerric (Raymond Burr), who tells Mark he has been hired by Paula's father to help look for her sister. Although how he was employed is never explained, Paula later confesses to Mark that her sister ran away because her father was abusive. Later on, Mark gets some horrible news and apparently Mary (Paula's sister) has killed herself with carbon monoxide inside a stolen car, but Paula can't believe this: her sister doesn't know how to drive. Mark's boss, Chief McRae, tells him he will get the cops to help with Paula's case, but only if Mark is able to come up with evidence that there exists a black market for babies in which they are sold and their mothers are killed. While Kerric attempts to shadow Paula, she and Mark arrive at a Salvation Army home where they find Mary was staying. Another woman (who claims to be Mary's friend while she was there) says one day an elderly woman came there and offered to buy Mary's baby, which she refused to agree to. Once Mark has what he thinks is enough evidence, he devises a trap to bait out the baby brokers. The cops set up hidden microphones outside the home of Mrs. Donner (the old woman who owns the organization), Mary's former friend poses as someone who wants to sell her child, and Paula and Mark pretend to be its future adoptive parents. Meanwhile, Kerric meets with Little Guy DeCola, the mobster responsible for killing Paula's sister. Kerric tries to act tough, but is reminded of his place when DeCola says he will have him murdered if he steps out of line or crosses Mrs. Donner's operation. Kerric can't take the heat and calls up Paula. He says he is willing to sell her her sister's baby as long as she gives him 1500 bucks. After getting in a car with him, she is taken to a boarding house where the kid is, although she is told she can't leave for a whole day. As soon as Kerric steps outside, he is violently beaten and taken to Donner and her thugs. Kerric is tortured and burned with matches until he admits that he double crossed Donner's plans and gave Paula Mary's kid. He is then beaten to death, and Donner attempts to cover her tracks. She and her thugs visit the boarding house and force Paula and the baby into a car, which then drives to an under construction country club. Mark pursues them there, shoots Donner's guards to death, and Donner is killed when she attempts to drive away and overturns her car. Paula and the baby are then rescued, and the black market is liquidated. This movie was quite hard to follow, but I was at least glad to see Burr playing a much more active part in the story when compared with the last film I saw him in. He still played the hoodlum with a temper people know him as here, but at least he's not being confined to one room for 80% of the runtime. I really can't think of many other noirs (let alone movies in general) that feature an old woman as the antagonist, although Guilty Bystander with Zachary Scott does have this (and coincidentally also has to do with a kidnapping). For once, Burr is not playing the main villain, which is fine with me. I thought Gale Storm (what a name) was not really the best leading actress they could have picked. She doesn't really have much expression throughout the film. Her sister was killed so she has somewhat of an excuse, but there's probably a reason she wasn't in many noirs. To summarize, Abandoned is a unique movie that fails in some ways most other noirs succeed in, such as not having an old woman as the main villain or involving kidnapping, but I would say it paid off.
Behind the Scenes: Making of Halo 2 (2004)
A great journey
Although I have never talked about it in a review before, it should be known that Halo is one of my favorite video game series. This documentary (included on a disc that came with the collector's edition of the second game) goes over Halo 2, its excruciating development process, and how much dedication is needed to make something that millions of people still enjoy 2 decades later. If you haven't played the first game (Halo: Combat Evolved), it is a science fiction military shooter in which the player assumes the role of a genetically enhanced supersoldier known as a Spartan. Spartans wear armor that is energy shielded, meaning they can't be physically hurt until the shield itself is depleted by either bullet based or plasma weapons. There are a bunch of spartans at first, but most of them are killed by an alien conglomerate known as the Covenant in the years leading up to the first game, until only one remains accounted for: Master Chief John-117. As Bungie employee and project lead Joseph Staten puts it, Halo 2 is primarily all the excitement the whole company felt at the end of the first game, but didn't get a chance to express. One of the most difficult parts of making any game is deciding how to implement what you're going to in the set time limit you have until the game needs to be shipped.
Halo 2 was originally supposed to be a much more expansive game, but corners had to be cut when Microsoft was facing Bungie with an imposing deadline of November 2004. Lots of additional features for the game were promised and up to a third of them were left out. The original Halo had basically served as the Xbox's killer app, and thousands of people would purchase one just to play that game. How would they exceed everyone's expectations and elevate the bar across the board for the sequel? For one thing, the point of view of the plot was changed. The first game focused on humanity's perspective, and how the Covenant's religious leaders declared a holy war against the humans for being an affront to their gods, the Forerunners. Much of the technology the Covenant uses is reverse engineered from this ancient race, and the Covenant believe that the enormous ringworlds known as Halos, thousands of miles in diameter, can be activated and make you a god. Only some of this was really part of Halo CE's story, and the alien perspective was never fully explored. To give insight into it, new characters and races of the Covenant were introduced, including the Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy (the religious leaders of the Covenant), as well as The Arbiter, who was the alien commander basically responsible for allowing Master Chief to blow up Halo at the end of the first game. The Arbiter's former title was the commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, and he was in charge of destroying the human spaceship called the Pillar of Autumn as it fled the planet Reach days before the events of the first game. Reach was totally obliterated and its surface cooked with plasma weapons, but the Autumn escapes and comes across the first Halo ring. The Prophets demote the former shipmaster for his failure to protect Halo and make him an Arbiter, a class of warrior sent on intentionally suicidal missions to hazardous locations. Everyone expects him to die, but over time, the rest of the Covenant see him as a savior.
I'm getting kind of off topic, but it is necessary to understand the changes made to the story to have a better idea of what Bungie tried to do different for the sequel. What most people overlook is how hellish Halo 2's development was. The game was made in a mere 10 months, and in 2003, Bungie needed to come up with at least something impressive to show off for that year's E3 in a hurry. E3 (electronic entertainment expo) was a yearly convention similar to comic con in which all the gaming press, developers, and fans get together for what is essentially a week long carnival, and companies show off what people can expect to see in the coming months in regards to video games. For this E3, Bungie put together a demo that was played by Joe Staten himself in front of a live audience. It showcased new weapons, the ability to have one gun in each hand, new vehicles, and even a vehicle boarding mechanic (jumping on Covenant vehicles and hijacking them). While fans were generally blown away by their first look at Halo 2, Bungie knew the entire thing was all smoke and mirrors. They did not come back from E3 with a playable part of a level. While the demo looked amazing and crisp, this was exactly the problem, as the xbox, in terms of its hardware, couldn't handle what Halo 2 was throwing at it. As the deadline drew closer, Bungie had to make dozens of huge changes to the game, including the removal of various levels, vehicles, guns, and other things. It wasn't easy, and more time would have been appreciated, but fans couldn't wait another year. Probably the most obvious indicator of Halo 2's rushed development is the final game's unforgiving difficulty. Halo always had an established formula: you run around as the ultimate human soldier and shoot at aliens, and later in the game, the Flood (space zombies that infect other races and become collectively more intelligent as a result). In the second game, this playstyle isn't really possible anymore, especially on the hardest setting, known as legendary. Enemies on this setting will literally notice your presence in about two thirds of a second and begin firing with atom splitting precision while only needing about 7 shots to kill you. It nearly eliminates the feeling of being a supersoldier like you were in the first game, and many fans not only consider Halo 2's legendary mode the hardest in the franchise, but also unfair and mentally exhausting. I have beaten the game on this setting and can attest to it. You really need to know it like the back of your hand to be successful. No other game in the series is this punishing, and the reason why is because of the rushed development. Halo CE's difficulty was calibrated and playtested by Bungie before release, ensuring a brutal but fair challenge, while the sequel is a brutally unfair challenge. Due to not having enough time, the developers simply ramped up the lethality of all the enemies, while not actually tweaking how strong they are. Despite their problems and setbacks, Bungie would eventually release Halo 2 on November 9, 2004 to critical acclaim. The game was so popular it was getting news coverage and sold over a million preordered copies before it even came out. Overall, it's an excellent game, but a very frustrating one, and if Bungie had more time, they would have produced one of the best games ever without a doubt (I think they still did).
I first saw this documentary around 2010 when I bought the collector's edition of Halo 2, which was rare even back then. It's a really good look into how a group of hard working programmers, artists, voice actors, musicians, and project leads put together something many take for granted. Every single track in the game's amazing list of music had to be composed and performed by people, and all the incredible lighting effects and visuals had to be designed by artists. Making environments and battlefields that manage to look impressive and wondrous from every angle is such a huge challenge, but I would say they achieved what they wanted. Also, the game was remade for its anniversary in 2014 and the graphics were upgraded even further. While Halo 2 itself might polarize people, this film will no doubt make people respect game designers more, since in order for games to be good, a lot of stressful work is often required.
The Outer Limits: A Feasibility Study (1964)
Modifiable morality
Recently, I talked about The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, a Twilight Zone installment that has aliens tampering with a suburban neighborhood and sowing chaos and confusion among its inhabitants. This episode of Outer Limits follows a similar premise, except these aliens are much more confident in their methods to pacify humanity and teleport an entire neighborhood to their homeworld. The episode begins with a bunch of people (along with their houses, cars, streets, and everything else around them) being moved to the strange planet of Luminos. The race of beings that live here are trying to conduct an experiment to see whether it's possible to enslave humanity, as Luminoids all have an affliction that gradually immobilizes them as they get older. Ralph Cashman says goodbye to his wife Rhea and leaves for church, but after travelling a while, comes into a strange misty area where he is ambushed by Luminoids. Meanwhile, Dr. Holm and his wife Andrea are arguing about a possible divorce since she wants to disobey her husband's wishes for her to stay at home. Shortly after, Ralph stumbles back to his house and his wife is shocked at his ghastly appearance: he has what looks like sores all over him. After Ralph is taken away in a light beam, Andrea gets in a car with someone infected by the Luminoid disease and is taken to them. Holm goes off in pursuit and meets with what appears to be a council of the aliens. They tell him they still plan to enslave humanity based on the outcome of this study, and if it is a success, all of planet Earth will follow suit. To enforce this, the Luminoids threaten him with their touch, which transmits the affliction they have. Holm demands Andrea to be released, but the Luminoids say they'll give her back when they're ready. Upon returning to his house, Holm is greeted by a strange looking Andrea who has a bright and distorted glow emanating from her, which is used by the Luminoids to sterilize people. As Holm and his wife prepare to go to the town church to tell the rest of the community about the alien's intentions, Andrea examines herself in the mirror and sees a telltale mark near her neck, which she hides from Holm. There's no mistaking it, she now has the Luminoid disease. As Holm arrives at the church, Andrea comes face to face with the infected Ralph outside, banging on the doors to be let in. Once the people inside see him, they are terrified, but then reassured by Holm's testament that this creature is still Ralph. Upon hearing this, Rhea voluntarily touches her husband and infects herself, and Holm tells everyone what must happen. He and everyone around him will never see earth again, but in order to prevent the aliens from getting what they want, they need to give up their desire to go back home and take one last defiant stand. Andrea reveals to Holm what she's been hiding from him, and Holm takes her hand. All the others in the church become infected, and their stance is made clear: dying is better than slavery. With their deaths, the study the Luminoids have been trying to accomplish is deemed infeasible. Their plans to enslave humans are done for. Unlike some other Outer Limits episodes, I feel like this one has an actual moral. I really can't say what it is, but the sense of being in a large community that ultimately sacrifices itself to prevent the aliens from achieving their goal gives a sense of teamwork that wasn't too common in this show. The effects of the Luminoid disease (visible on the skin) haven't really aged well and kind of look like snot just draped over the victim, but like most Outer Limits aliens, the Luminoids themselves have a unique look that can only be described as bipedal rocks. Because they say the disease only really starts to affect them as they age, perhaps the episode is a metaphor for how the old are weighed down with too many responsibilities that prevent them from doing what they want. The elderly Luminoids probably don't regret the things they did in their lives, but the things they didn't do. Overall, I would say that Feasibility Study is probably one of this show's best. It's definitely depressing when you realize the human subjects are destined to die in this inescapable realm, but humanity will not forget their sacrifice.
The Last Gangster (1937)
Dad Robinson
While Edward G Robinson is always one of my favorite actors, seeing him appear opposite other legends from the golden age of movies brings a new level of depth and enjoyability to an experience. This film has him playing his usual gangster image he was celebrated so much for, but with a sentimental twist. The movie starts during Prohibition, and a kingpin named Joe Krozac (Robinson) has just got back from Europe with his new wife Talya (Rose Stradner). She doesn't know about her husband's dark past. Some brothers named the Kiles have taken over some of Joe's areas while he was away, so he sends people to murder them. All but one are killed. Shortly after, Talya reveals she is going to have a child and Joe is ecstatic. However, the timing couldn't be any worse. Joe is arrested for tax evasion and sent to arguably the worst prison in the whole nation: Alcatraz Island. He must spend an entire decade behind bars and have his son grow up without him. He is visited in prison by Talya, who shows him his newborn son. For Krozac, there's no worse feeling in the world than being mere inches from his kid but not even being able to touch him. Soon, a reporter named Paul (Jimmy Stewart) takes a picture of Talya carrying Joe Krozac Jr and slips a gun into his hand. When the image later shows up in the papers, Talya is enraged and goes to the newspaper responsible, demanding the editor leave her and her son alone. Her request is refused, but Paul feels so bad about it that he resigns and begins to court Talya. The latter divorces Joe so she can be with Paul. Meanwhile, Joe has a grueling ten years in prison, consisting of beatings from other inmates who tease him about his former status, as well as the brutality of the guards. The next time Talya visits him, he notices the kid is absent, and Talya is very irritated looking. When Joe asks where his kid is, she responds he is not going to see him again as he is a bad influence. While Joe is forced to get to the end of his decade long sentence the hard way, Paul and Talya begin a new life with new names and move somewhere they think Joe won't find them. Eventually, the ten years go by and Paul learns that Joe is to be released from prison. When he is, the only thing on his mind is getting his son back and punishing his traitorous wife. Joe is approached by his old partner in crime, Curly, who wants him to take back control of his syndicate. It turns out to be a trap as Joe is beaten severely by numerous gangsters who want to know where he stashed all the money he had made before he was incarcerated. Joe refuses to talk until the gangsters somehow get ahold of his son, now named Paul Jr. Joe gives the thugs the location of the cash, and they go steal it for themselves. Their success proves to be short lived as the cops ambush them and gun them all down, but because Joe wasn't with them, he survives and takes back his kid. Paul Jr tells his father that he doesn't look anything like his father, and keeps referencing cool and resourceful outdoor things Paul taught him to do, greatly angering Joe. All he wants is for his son to believe he's his real father, but it doesn't happen. Joe decides to lead Paul Jr to his house and at long last comes back into the life of Talya. Sensing that it's hopeless trying to get his son to like him as he was raised by a stranger, Joe leaves the house, dejected. He is confronted by Acey, the lone Kile brother whose siblings were murdered by Joe's affiliates. Acey tells Joe that he is planning to tell the papers who Paul Jr's dad really is so his reputation will be destroyed before he enters adulthood, and Acey will shoot Joe to prevent him from interfering. In a final act of defiance, Joe charges at Acey, gets shot, but manages to turn the gun on his enemy and kill him. Joe then collapses and dies, and a medal his son gave him earlier can be seen in his palm. The backside of it reads "for outstanding achievement." This is a pretty sad but also uplifting movie, as Robinson plays one of his most unique roles I've yet seen from him. Most people are only familiar with his gangster persona, and while this film fits into that category, it's only half his character. He shows how a child means the world to a parent, and even though his son refuses to accept him as his true dad, he cares for him anyway. In the end, it gets him killed, and Paul Jr still most likely thinks he was a creepy old stranger, but Joe dies in peace knowing he saved his son from a potentially fatal situation involving gangs. It was strange seeing Jimmy Stewart in a Robinson film, as typically he's playing someone likeable, but taking Robinson's wife from him is unforgivable. No doubt one of the worst aspects of being in prison is not even being able to prevent your partner from cheating on you. Overall, I think this movie is better than most people will say, since it shows a side of Robinson that wasn't displayed in many of his pictures. It's sadder when you realize Robinson's real life son Manny was a chronic drunk who committed suicide.
Fawlty Towers (1975)
British humor at its best
When thinking of British comedy television, the first thing that comes to most people's minds is Monty Python (rightfully so). There aren't many shows that can stand up to it in terms of longevity, as it's now half a century old but still hilarious. However, Fawlty Towers is definitely one contender. Part of the reason it is so funny is because John Cleese is the main character, and his antics on the aforementioned show rank up there with some of the most well thought out comedic productions in tv history. Set in a dysfunctional English hotel located by the sea, Fawlty Towers focuses on the proprietor of the establishment, Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), as he goes about trying to run the hotel. Most of the laughs come from how overstretched he is, since his demanding and authoritative wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) is constantly on his back about either the things he is or isn't doing. Also part of the cast is Polly, played by Cleese's wife Connie Booth, whom he divorced when the show was almost over. While only a chambermaid, she's usually the most sensible character and typically makes the most rational decisions. Manuel (Andrew Sachs) is the waiter for the restaurant portion of the hotel, and being from Barcelona, he rarely understands the requests and inquiries of english speaking guests, which is to say everybody. His ineptitude combined with his pride in the pitiful amount of english he actually comprehends makes for some of the show's most memorable moments. Throughout the various episodes, Basil is forced by his job to respect people he really can't stand, and while he might try to prevent his problems from becoming somebody else's, the other employees more often than not get pulled into them. Basil always dreams of being man enough to not put up with his wife's verbal abuse, and Polly has to choose between being scolded by Sybil or agreeing that Basil is a buffoon. Basil's not so serious exterior often makes you forget about what feats of endurance Cleese himself is capable of, such as the time he got mad at Manuel and proceeded to carry him up a set of stairs with only one arm. The dialogue in the show is perfectly put together and still funny after all these decades. Even in a single scene, you'll often have the direct antithesis to Basil's frantic and sour behavior (Manuel), and while you might think their two directly opposite personalities would be an oil and water kind of thing, they go together like bread and butter. Basil's interactions with the guests and how they drive him up the wall are similarly important and are basically the heart of the show. Without these interactions, there wouldn't be much going on and your basis for a plot wouldn't exist. The show also possesses something admirable that is a rarity in sitcoms (or really any show) today, which is the near total lack of crassness. The humor is designed and acted intelligently, and you'll probably never see another show pull off these kinds of jokes. While only 12 episodes were ever produced, I think Cleese and the rest made the right choice seeing as how the show didn't have a chance to decline. Television series (especially american ones) are often allowed to continue airing until nobody watches or cares about them anymore, with the most prominent example probably being The Simpsons, which has been unfunny since at least 2000. You never get the feeling that Fawlty Towers is doing just about anything to get a laugh from the audience, and none of it feels forced. Cleese is so good at acting that you often forget he's doing so; he becomes whatever character he's portraying. Overall, Fawlty Towers is a more than worthy successor to Monty Python's Flying Circus, as many feel that the latter dropped in quality when Cleese left it.
Where Danger Lives (1950)
"Nobody pities me"
A few months ago, I took a look at The Big Steal, a late 40s Robert Mitchum noir that did not really impress me. While I am trying to distance myself as far away as possible from it, I couldn't help but notice similarities between that film and this one. Most notably, they both involve him going to (or attempting to go to) Mexico with some girl who gets him into problems. I like this film a lot more since it is easier to understand, but still manages to excite the audience as the cops are right behind the protagonists throughout most of it. The story begins not in the way you would expect because of the type of character Mitchum is playing. A doctor named Jeff Cameron (Mitchum) is tasked with looking after a deranged but attractive woman who has tried to kill herself. Jeff later receives word that she left the hospital under a fake name, but sends him a telegram containing her real one, along with her address. When Jeff shows up to her place, he is surprised to learn she lives in a mansion. After entering the residence of Margo Lannington (Faith Domergue), the latter tells Jeff she tried to commit suicide because she has nothing to make life worth it. Jeff is shocked since she is essentially calling her mansion "nothing." He abandons a date with a nurse named Julie in order to stay by Margo's side. As she and Jeff begin going out with each other, he once again shows up to her mansion and finds an older man, Frederick (Claude Rains), whom he assumes is Margo's father. Jeff wants permission from him to marry Margo, but he reveals Margo is actually his wife. Jeff leaves, dejected, but as he is about to walk out the front yard, he hears Margo scream. Rushing back inside, she tearfully informs Jeff that Frederick violently yanked out one of her earrings. Jeff pushes away Frederick, but the latter grabs a fire poker and brings it down on Jeff's back and head, hard. Jeff gets the upper hand and subdues Frederick against the fireplace, knocking him out. As Jeff goes to the bathroom to try and get water to revive Frederick, he finds out he is dead. Jeff wants to tell the cops, but of course, they'll think he killed him, and both he and Margo know it. Taking advantage of the fact that Jeff got beat on the head and is probably having trouble making rational choices, she persuades him to go away with her to Mexico. They try an airport, but cops are waiting there. Jeff then tries to drive Margo to mexico, but he passes out at the wheel and nearly crashes. Being a doctor, Jeff knows soon how serious his condition is due to how his pupils look: he has a concussion. He tells Margo that soon his limbs will lose sensation and he'll be in a coma about 2 days from now. Jeff has several close encounters with the cops, including one that involves him getting into an accident because he passed out driving again, but manages to evade detection. Eventually in Arizona, Jeff and Margo are taken to the cops, but only because they don't have beards during a Wild West extravaganza. When questioned about what they're doing here, Margo ad-libs that they're going to Mexico to be married, and the police insist they get married here since it's the town's specialty. In their bedroom, Margo breaks a radio after it reveals that she has been getting psychiatric help. Once Margo and Jeff are on the move again, the sheriff recognizes from a picture of Margo that she is a wanted woman and alerts border guards. Just miles from the mexican border, Margo and Jeff realize they don't have enough money to pay the fare, but Margo gives up her diamond bracelet (worth 9000 bucks) to a pawnbroker. She gets ripped off as he only gives her 1k for it, but she's in no position to make demands. After the pawnbroker wises up to the fact that Jeff and Margo are both running from cops, he invites them into a movie theater owned by a corrupt smuggler named Milo, who offers to get them across the border in a truck for 1000 dollars. Margo agrees, but Jeff's condition is rapidly falling apart. By the time the truck is ready, he can't even move the left half of his body. It finally hits him that Margo is nuts and killed Frederick when Jeff stepped out to the bathroom. She also ripped the earring from her own ear to frame him. Margo tries to prevent word of this from getting out by suffocating Jeff with a pillow, then gets in the truck. Unfortunately, Jeff isn't dead and goes after Margo. Barely able to walk, Jeff struggles to the border and sees the truck Margo is stashed in. She tries to run away, but when it becomes apparent Jeff isn't going to back off, she draws a pistol and shoots him. The border patrol shoots back at her, and she dies shortly after. Her last words convince the cops Jeff is innocent, as she killed Frederick herself, and Jeff was too stupid to know what was going on. Jeff is taken to hospital and told he's not going to remain paralyzed. Julie is in the hall waiting to visit him. When compared with the previous Mitchum film I saw, this is a step up in almost every way. The revelation of Margo being insane enough to kill her husband was something I wasn't expecting, although I did suspect she injured herself right before that and blamed Frederick. Mitchum plays an out of character part for someone with his reputation, but it's one of his most determined parts I've yet seen. Even after sustaining crippling damage to his head and nerves, he still walks forward regardless of the peril. I'll definitely have to seek out more movies with Faith in them, since she seems suited for these plot types.
Oppenheimer (2023)
The destroyer of worlds
While humanity doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to trying to abstain from war, the point of no return really came at the end of World War II, when people were introduced to atomic weapons. For the first time in history, humans possessed something to destroy their entire species with. This very extensive movie goes over the most important moments of the life of J Robert Oppenheimer: the man who played a pivotal role in the invention of nuclear weapons, and how creating something that harnesses the power of the sun caused him irreversible mental distress. While I don't think Christopher Nolan has ever directed an outright bad movie, Oppenheimer requires a specific mindset to get the most out of and those not interested in ww2 (let alone history) will probably think it's way too slow moving. The last half hour or so exacerbates this, and it does kind of get less interesting past the 2 hour and 30 minute mark, but if you find Cold War history fascinating, you can power through it.
The movie begins in 1926, where a college-aged J Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is tormented by feelings of nervousness while studying at the University of Cambridge. His professor, Patrick Blackett, teaches quantum physics, and Robert can't seem to keep his mind on his work, much to the chagrin of his teacher. Fed up with Blackett's attitude towards him, Robert tries to leave an apple injected with cyanide on his desk, but later discards it. Shortly after, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) comes to the college to tell Robert he should be pursuing theoretical physics at Göttingen University. When Robert eventually completes his PhD, he comes face to face with Werner Heisenberg in Switzerland, one of Nazi Germany's most esteemed scientists and the man who, given enough time, might build an atom bomb for Hitler. Oppenheimer expresses his wishes to start transferring knowledge about quantum physics to American students, to which Heisenberg says he is wasting his time; nobody takes physics seriously in america. However, this is exactly the reason Robert wants to do it. While teaching at Berkeley University in California, Robert meets his future wife, Kitty Puening (Emily Blunt), and also has a secondary affair with Jean Tatlock, a communist party member who eventually commits suicide because Robert isn't devoted enough to her. One day, news is brought to Robert as it's discovered nazi scientists have done the impossible and split the atom, creating nuclear fission. He realizes that a huge chain reaction like this can be used for a weapon that would have an unimaginable destructive force. With the Second World War now underway, Robert is visited by american army Colonel Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), who wants Oppenheimer to lead something known as the Manhattan Project: america's top secret program that will eventually result in the A bomb. Groves appoints Robert to direct the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, which is the site where the first nuke will be detonated once it's ready. Oppenheimer and a bunch of other scientists are under a lot of pressure as Heisenberg's research may yet produce a nuclear bomb for the nazis. To counteract this, Robert brings together a team of some of the Western Allies' biggest scientific brains, such as Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (who created the world's first nuclear reactor), Edward Teller, and Hans Bethe. Teller informs Oppenheimer that according to his research, a nuclear explosion can potentially ignite the atmosphere itself in a never ending chain reaction, blowing up the entire world.
After talking to Albert Einstein, Robert is confident the chances of that happening are near zero. Meanwhile, Teller tries to abandon the manhattan project after his plans to make a hydrogen bomb (even more powerful than a nuke) are turned down. By now, it's 1945 and germany has lost the war, leading some scientists to ask whether the nuke is really necessary. Robert argues that it would force the Japanese (who are still fighting) to give up, but is sickened at the prospect of annihilating an entire city with this terrible weapon. He is given a list of potential targets and selects Hiroshima, due to it having a large presence of military industry. Using Uranium that has been processed in nuclear reactors located in Washington State, the first nuke, codenamed Little Boy, is soon ready for deployment, and the new President Harry Truman orders its use as soon as the military is ready. A second weapon, codenamed Fat Man, utilizes Plutonium, a manmade radioactive element that is even more powerful. Because america had no idea whether these bombs actually worked, a device would need to be tested. A third bomb (known as the gadget) is hoisted to the top of a metal tower at los alamos. Early in the morning of July 16th, 1945, the nuclear age began. In a blinding flash, Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists realize they finally have the means to defeat japan, but are terrified at the implications it has for the world. When japan refuses to surrender after Hiroshima is nuked, Truman orders the second bomb to be dropped on Nagasaki, causing massive destruction. While the american public thinks Robert is a hero for his contributions to this war ending device, he is haunted by what he has developed. He is invited to the White House to tell the president and his Secretary of State James Byrnes about the bomb. When Oppenheimer tells Truman he feels like he has blood on his hands, the president accuses him of being weak and tells him to leave.
Robert soon becomes an advisor to the Atomic Energy Commission, an organization that controls nuclear policy and development, but his position is threatened by people accusing him of being a communist. Teller's idea for a hydrogen bomb is looked at as being potentially useful in the midst of the cold war. The AEC's leader Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) doesn't like Oppenheimer since he advocated for working together with the USSR after the latter exploded their first nuke in 1949. Strauss also thinks Robert said something offensive about him during a talk he had with Einstein, after the latter snubs Strauss. In the mid 50s, a jealous Strauss organizes a hearing before a board that intends to revoke Oppenheimer's Q clearance and deny him a position on the AEC. Robert's past regarding his feelings on communism are brought up, and people (including Teller and Groves) testify against him. Kitty shows up and tries to clear her husband's name and says he's not a communist and has full loyalty to america, which only results in a pyrrhic victory for Robert: he is not suspected of being disloyal anymore, but his clearance is taken away, meaning he can no longer easily sway american policy on nukes. Oppenheimer later gets his revenge on Strauss when at the end of the decade, a Senate hearing for Secretary of Commerce reveals that Strauss set up Oppenheimer's fall from grace. Strauss is declined his nomination, and LBJ gives Oppenheimer an award 4 years later. It is later shown that during Robert's 1947 conversation with Einstein, the latter never insulted or brought up Strass at all. Rather, Robert voices his concerns about starting a chain reaction that will destroy Earth, not with a sudden atomic explosion, but by making all powerful countries want to have access to them.
Usually with very long and popular movies like this, I tend to write about them way too late in my opinion. When this came out, I was hesitant to watch it since they might have butchered the historical accuracy in order to keep the attention spans of modern audiences, and by the time I was ready to share my comments on it, I felt everything had already been said. That's not to say the film is inaccurate. They really went above and beyond here. Einstein and Oppenheimer were actually friends, but Nolan no doubt made up that conversation between the two of them, just as how many people who write history invent talks between famous figures in order to tell an interesting story. I was a bit let down at the lack of what happens in Chicago, as Oppenheimer only goes there once and very briefly in the film to meet with Fermi. Just like the movie The Beginning or the End (also on Oppenheimer) which I saw about 2 years ago, his colleagues refer to him as "Oppie" in this film too, much to my dismay. In general though, Oppenheimer's excellent soundtrack, visuals, portrayal of historical figures, and retelling of events that led to the most dreadful weapon ever seen should please most who like to read and watch things about history, especially ww2.
Looking at London (1946)
Postwar England
While many people would say New York is the most varied and impressive city in the world, I would think London deserves the title more as it has stood alone against the Nazis, been attacked in numerous wars, and still manages to remain a hub of trade, culture and vibrancy even to this day. This Traveltalks (which is more interesting than usual) goes over London right after World War II is concluded, and shows some of the landmarks that have survived the biggest war humanity has ever seen. For centuries, the city has been inhabited by such illustrious men as Henry VIII, Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, and countless others who have contributed to making Britain arguably the mightiest country in history. We start by looking at the Bank of England, then at a marble arch that serves as a gateway to the famous Hyde Park, where brits gather to enjoy diversions. Buckingham Palace, probably the most well known building in britain, comes into view. Before being bought by King George III, it was made by the Duke of Buckingham all for himself. A monument outside is dedicated to Queen Victoria. At the western side of Trafalgar Square, we see Admiralty Archway, which is also part of the memorial to Queen Victoria. Dominating the square is a monument dedicated to Horatio Nelson, the esteemed naval commander whose victory over French and Spanish forces during the time of Napoleon allowed britain to have total control of the seas for another century. Next, we see evidence of bomb damage at the London Port of Authority Building, which has a huge tower on its top story, the latter having every one of its offices destroyed (except one). Another place badly hit by bombs was The Temple, best known as the former headquarters of the Knights Templar. Since the 1300s, it has mostly been used by lawyers. Near Saint Paul's Cathedral, entire city blocks were destroyed, but the church itself is perfectly fine. Strangely, a species of flower that apparently hasn't been seen since the 1600s has been sighted near the cathedral, which is symbolic since London will eventually heal from the scars of war. Marching through the streets are members of the First British Expeditionary Force: First World War veterans who participated in the Battle of the Marne in 1914. They inflicted such losses on Germany that Kaiser Wilhelm called them "contemptibles." In keeping with british humor, members of the force started referring to themselves as that ever since. Fitzpatrick gets on a double decker bus to go to Picadilly, which summarizes the postwar feeling more than anywhere else, and then visits Westminster Palace. Big Ben stands beside the House of Parliament, which boasts 1100 rooms and 2 miles worth of passages. Something unexpected lies closeby, where we see a statue of Abraham Lincoln. I say unexpected because during the Civil War, britain came close to declaring war on the US following an incident which involved Confederate diplomats being seized from a british ship. Britain moved troops to Canada and threatened to attack America, but Lincoln backed down and ordered the diplomats to be let go. I think it's important how Fitzpatrick showed some of the devastation caused to britain during the war, and while he shows much, there were much worse incidents. The germans had a type of bomb during the war that had an explosive force capable of leveling more than 200 houses in one blast, though it was rarely dropped on britain. It's frankly pretty sickening when you think about it. It's hard to believe we're now out of the era of ww2 Traveltalks, as Fitzpatrick says with the war over, things can only improve for London. Overall, I thought this one was more interesting than most others in the series, especially since it's so soon after the war.
Report from the Aleutians (1943)
Alaskan attack
World War II was a conflict big enough to have some of its theaters forgotten, even among those who like learning about the subject. When I first heard about the Aleutian Islands campaign, it surprised even me. This was a series of battles fought on and nearby the aleutian islands, which is the island chain stretching away from Alaska into the Bering Sea and towards the far eastern part of Soviet Russia. This place was so remote and isolated from basically every other theater of the war that it's hard to believe its occupation posed a real threat to the United States, but Japan knew that whoever controlled these islands controlled Pacific transport routes. Additionally, having airbases on these islands would possibly allow for bombing raids on cities like Anchorage and various places in California. This documentary, directed by John Huston, forgoes a lot of emphasis on actual combat and instead focuses on what the lives of the men fighting in the aleutians were like. More specifically, it shows soldiers on Adak, an island in the aleutians which is relatively close to another island named Kiska. Kiska had been occupied by japanese forces and US forces on adak needed to build up a sizable number of planes and other materials needed to dislodge the invaders. We get to see how in this bleak environment, adjustments need to be made to the methods by which runways are built. It's infeasible to build them with concrete on a muddy island, so infantry are brought in to build runways with prefabricated steel planks that interlock with each other. Although the total area exceeds a million square feet, the men get it done in a day and a half. After this, footage is shown of American planes, both bombers and fighters, making landings on adak island. The large bombers, like B-24s and 17s, can absorb (as well as deal) a lot of damage, and are likely to bring their crews safely back to base no matter how many times they are hit, unless an explosive shell impacts a gas tank. One of the planes, a P-38 Lightning, makes a wheels up landing and slides into the runway, badly scraping the undercarriage. The pilot is killed and his funeral is then shown. We're told how nobody hates war more than a soldier, and any pilot on adak will gladly risk getting shot down over kiska if it means getting another letter from back home sent their way. Towards the end of the film, we see how officers plan a bombing attack on kiska. American bomber pilots are to proceed at a certain altitude to the japanese held island and rain explosive hell on them from the air. About a dozen Curtiss P-40 fighter planes are sent as escorts. The flight to kiska, a little under two hours, is apparently really boring as some members of the bomber crews play cards on the way there. Meanwhile, the guns on the planes are tested. Once over kiska, the bombers start dropping ordinance on enemy positions and blowing up hangars. Japanese resistance is not as bad as it could be, since they use no planes of their own to attack the bombers. America sends out 9 planes, and 9 planes get back to base. The rest of adak is happy and the mission is accomplished. Although this film has to do with ww2, I would think only those truly interested in the subject will be able to get the full use out of it. There's not much going on until the last 10 minutes or so (when the bombing attack starts), and Huston wanted to portray war for what it is 90% of the time: boring. Army officials actually fought Huston's decision to include scenes such as GI's standing around having cigarettes or opening letters, but he wanted to show the truth about what was going on in the north Pacific. What the film makes no mention of is the rather embarrassing event that followed around 2 weeks after it was released. American and Canadian forces eventually assaulted kiska with actual soldiers in order to completely eliminate the japanese presence on it; something that can't be accomplished from the sky. Unbeknownst to the two allies, japanese forces had deserted the island altogether days earlier, and there was no enemy to fight at all. Despite this, american and canadian forces repeatedly shot at (and in some cases accidentally killed) each other due to confusion and bad visibility on the foggy island. As a result, the two nations lost around 90 men while japan lost none. Overall, Report from the Aleutians is a mostly slow moving but important look into world war 2's only north american campaign.
The Creeping Terror (1964)
Best film of all time
The ability of a movie to captivate an audience is what defines their worth as entertainment, and no film can deliver an unforgettable experience like this one. Widely considered one the most classic monster movies to ever exist, The Creeping Terror basically reinvented the genre and was so influential it continues to inspire new directors to take notes from it decades later. To get to the root of this greatness, we have to examine the story. The plot starts with a deputy sheriff named Martin (Vic Savage) driving with his wife Brett on the road late at night. They meet Martin's uncle, Ben and report to a site where they have been told a plane crashed. Once there, they discover an alien spaceship. Ben crawls underneath the spacecraft, gaining access to the inside. He finds a large, alien creature resembling a slug, which screeches at him. Martin calls for assistance from the military. Colonel Caldwell is soon on the scene with a unit of soldiers. Two men go under the craft just as Ben did and find the creature, noting that it seems to be strapped to the wall. The colonel consults Dr. Bradford, who apparently knows more about space emissions than anyone on Earth, to learn more about the creature and the ship. After receiving a piece of the ship's hull, Bradford finds out it's made of some kind of unknown metallic alloy that humanity can't reproduce. Even after intense study, its atomic layout is a mystery. A second creature goes forth from the crashed ship and devours numerous people in a rural area, including a girl in a bikini, a man fishing with his grandson, a housewife putting clothes out to dry, people at a picnic who try beating it back with guitars, and even numerous people at a dance party. Later, the monster makes its way to an area where people take their lovers for privacy during intimate moments. It flips over a car, kills some more people, and then Caldwell and Bradford show up. Caldwell orders the troops to shoot at the monster, but Bradford wants it taken alive to further scientific research. The soldiers run out of ammo, and despite their best efforts, cannot outpace the slug and get devoured. Caldwell disregards Bradford's wishes and tosses a grenade at the creature, blowing it to pieces. Bradford picks up a chunk of the monster's mangled tissue, and makes his way back to the crash site. For absolutely no reason, an explosion occurs once he climbs inside. The blast fatally wounds Brandford, but the craft and its tough alloy instruments aren't damaged. Unfortunately, the blast also weakened the restraints holding back the second creature, allowing it to escape. As the monster prepares to eat Bradford, Martin's police cruiser shows up and rams into it. Martin explains to Bradford a worrying discovery: the creatures are biologically engineered lifeforms that are designed to eat humans in order to find out their weaknesses and communicate their findings back to their home planet. Martin hurries into the ship and tries his best to destroy the ship's transmitter by hitting it with his pistol, but whoever designed it did their job well. The information the creatures collected is sent into space, and Martin tells Bradford. The dying scientist says space is so vast that their homeworld might not even be a thing anymore, so there is no point being concerned over it. Only God knows for certain. After reading all this, is it any wonder why this movie is so critically acclaimed? Everything about it, the acting, music, pacing are all first rate. The screeching of the slug monster is loud and serves to keep people awake so they don't miss any parts of the riveting story. Thankfully, it continues ceaselessly any time the monster is onscreen, so you have plenty of time to appreciate it. Vic Savage, who plays Martin, also directed. He really delivers because he originally intended to produce a better looking costume for the monster in the film. Don't ask me how it's possible to improve on what's already perfect, but some lowlife actually stole the costume days before filming was to start. Because of this, Vic had to improvise and put together one of the most terrifying aliens ever put on film to compensate. Despite the final monster not being as cool, it really shows the determination of all involved and how they were able to make everything fall into place at the last moment. It takes real talent to accomplish things like this in a time crunch. Overall, there really isn't anything negative I can say about The Creeping Terror, and it gives Citizen Kane a run for its money. I think everyone should see it at some point, and as for those who dislike it, their opinions are best disregarded since they are doing nothing but embarrassing themselves.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
"Good evening"
While the films of Alfred Hitchcock are still widely celebrated decades after the legendary director himself has been gone, many people often gloss over his work in television, which is a really big mistake. When this show hit the scene in the 1950s, tv was new, and everybody seemed to like the idea of Alfred's engaging, crime related dramas being condensed into a more easy to understand format. Each episode of this show is like its own, small Hitchcock movie, some good and some not so good. This is the price you pay for Hitchcock Presents being an anthology show, meaning the storylines for the episodes are all disconnected and have nothing to do with one another. This allowed the show to gather a truly impressive range of guest stars, some of them being among the all time best classic Hollywood had to offer, such as Bette Davis, Clint Eastwood, Cedric Hardwicke, Steve McQueen, Robert Duvall, Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds, Vera Miles, John Cassavetes and Peter Lorre just to name a few. Before The Twilight Zone pushed the boundaries of fantastic stories that often couldn't be explained by anyone, this series was basically doing the same, minus some of the fantasy elements. Basically all the episodes of this show are grounded in reality and deal with events that can possibly take place, but they will usually contain strange coincidences or Hitchcock's signature use of suspense to keep the viewers guessing (not to mention interested). Just like any other show like this, people love to discuss their favorites and point out everything the series has to offer in great detail. Among the literal hundreds of episodes Hitchcock's female companion Joan Harrison produced (along with Norman Lloyd), I will never forget how creepy the one involving the car accident is. If you've seen it already, you'll know what I'm talking about, and Hitchcock is one of the few people to make an audience feel real fear through a tv screen. Not by using cheap jumpscares that you can't predict, but by taking advantage of the fact that everyone is afraid of being paralyzed. The only thing worse than an impossibly bad situation is not even being able to remove yourself from it. That being said, there are definitely way too many other great episodes of this show to mention here, and many of them are complicated, so you'll need to see them yourself to get the full effect. Overall, I would say that Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a classic show that still entertains decades later because it takes back the talent of telling interesting, crime related stories: something that is often left by the wayside in tv now.
The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960)
Mass hysteria
With TV shows, it usually takes a few months (or even years) for them to hit their stride and start producing good episodes back to back consistently. However, because this episode was written by none other than Rod Serling, it's no wonder it is regarded as one of the best of The Twilight Zone's first season. The show's mysterious, cigar smoking narrator delivers a script that, when viewed in the context of a television screen, seems like a science fiction story, but upon closer examination, contains a moral that everyone on Earth needs to hear. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street starts (fittingly enough) on Maple Street, a quiet, idyllic suburban community that embodies what life in small town America should be like. Everyone is friendly, knows everybody else, and is always willing to lend a hand. One day, a shadow passes over the community, makes a loud roar, and then disappears. Everyone outside sees it, but they dismiss it as a shooting star. Soon, all the residents notice that all their electronics are turned off, and not even their radios work. One of the neighbors, Steve (Claude Akins), plans to take his friend Pete to Floral Street to see if they're having problems as well, but they are confronted by a young kid named Tommy. Tommy tells Steve he better not try to leave the community, as he read a science fiction story that involves aliens coming to earth and causing blackouts. He also mentions that a family on the street are actually aliens, but they look and behave like normal people. Although nobody believes Tommy, another resident, Les, tries to start his convertible, to no avail. Once he gives up and walks away, it revs up by itself. This event, along with the fact that Les did not rush outside to see the comet earlier, convince the residents that Les is the alien. Steve tries to calm down the crowd before it becomes an angry mob. Les defends himself by saying he suffers from chronic sleeping issues and the public shouldn't be concerned at his habit of looking at the night sky in his yard: it has nothing to do with aliens. One person in the crowd, Charlie, is not satisfied. He wants to keep watching Les' house, and Steve tells him this is a waste of time. He encourages him to go to bed, but Charlie is now suspicious of Steve because he wants him out of the way, and Steve also has a ham radio set that no one in the neighborhood has ever seen. Charlie stokes the fears of the other inhabitants, and they start to suspect Steve talks to aliens on that thing. Suddenly, an unidentified man walks towards the crowd from the murky distance. A neighbor grabs a shotgun from his house, thinking he might need it. Charlie can't stand the tension and takes it from him. He shoots the approaching guy dead, only to find out it was Pete. An incredulous Charlie tries to defend himself by saying there's nothing he could have done to know it was him, but the mob (and even Steve) now turn on him. They're convinced Pete had news that Charlie is the alien, and Charlie murdered him to shut him up. In an attempt to save himself, Charlie tells the mob he knows who the alien is and has known it all along: it's the kid. Tommy's mother thinks this is ridiculous slander, but the townsfolk seem to agree, since Tommy knew about the alien plan and what they would do. The mob runs after him, and Steve's attempts to act as mediator are futile by this point. Meanwhile, far in the distance, a flying saucer and its alien crew are watching the chaos happen on Maple Street. They're fiddling with a control panel that allows them to interfere with the place's electricity. The aliens comment on how easy it is to get foolish humans to scapegoat each other when they can sense something is amiss with one of their neighbors, even if it's not true. After discussing how they plan to take over earth by exploiting this behavior, the aliens climb in their ship and fly away. This is one of the premiere classics of TZ's season 1. I think the episodes of this show that act as vehicles for conveying a message Serling has for american society as a whole end up being the best ones, such as Eye of the Beholder for instance. The whole thing is very obviously a jab at communism and how just because everyone is the same, doesn't mean everything is fine. With this, Serling is commentating on how easy it is for formerly friendly people living next to each other to become hostile when confronted with the unexplained. It is just human nature to be afraid of what you don't understand, and subsequently seek something to blame it on. As for the aliens, the suits they're wearing came from the famous movie Forbidden Planet, as did the flying saucer and shots of its retractable stairway. Even the shot of the UFO flying away at the very end is from that film, except it's reversed and the spaceship is upside down. Overall, this episode is not only a landmark for Twilight Zone, but it is an important reminder on how paranoia can bring a town, city, or even a whole nation to absolute ruin.
The Outer Limits: Specimen: Unknown (1964)
Little ship of horrors
In science fiction media, the thing that causes trouble for or terrorizes the protagonists is typically an alien or being from some distant world. While this installment of The Outer Limits might partially fit that description, I would still say this show is one of the only things to ever make something like this appear threatening. The story begins in the cold reaches of space. An orbital space station's laboratory is being worked in by an astronaut named Lieutenant Howard. He's studying some kind of fungus that randomly appeared inside the station one day. He puts it in an incubator to see what happens, and eventually it grows into a spindly white flower with a long stem. When Howard tries to investigate it further, the flower squirts a vapor into his face which quickly forms into poison gas while making a screeching noise. Howard tries to get rid of the flower and the other pods from which they grow, but he suffocates. The crew of the Adonis (the space station) try to look into what happened to Howard, but a change of shift botches their plan. By the time everyone realizes the plants are what killed him, the flowers are already onboard an earthbound shuttle and sealed in a compartment behind the crew. Colonel MacWilliams (Stephen MacNally), officer in charge of a base where the shuttle is supposed to land, faces a serious problem when he hears from Captain Doweling (Richard Jaeckal). The captain says how everyone inside the shuttle is succumbing fast to the vapors the plants give off, despite them being sealed aft of the crew compartment. Doweling's wife Janet (Gail Kobe) tries to convince him to hang in there, but MacWilliams realizes the fate of the whole human race is potentially at stake. Doweling is convinced if the plants make it to Earth, they will spread out of control to every continent and kill everyone, so he wants MacWilliams to blow up the shuttle before it lands. The colonel knows fully well everyone on it will die, but he either does this or risks losing the entire planet. Eventually, the plan to blow up the ship is cancelled and MacWilliams gives them orders to land at a base in Florida. By the time the shuttle crashes and Adonis personnel (along with MacWilliams and Janet) are on the scene, thousands of the flowers are swarming the crash site. The colonel pries open the ship's hatch and manages to get all the crew members (except one who has died) to safety in an ambulance. However, when he and Janet attempt to leave the area in a car, the engine won't start. MacWilliams opens the hood to find the engine engulfed in plants. He and Janet try to leave on foot, but there's so many flowers at this point that they seal off literally every means of escape. Right when all hope seems lost, a rainstorm descends from the heavens: bad news for MacWilliams who theorized the flowers will gain strength from it. Instead, the opposite happens and they start to wither and die. MacWilliams and Janet (and by extension, earth) are saved. Upon going through the reviews for this episode, I can't put into words my disappointment at finding out no one else rated it a 9. How can you hate it? The ending is probably mostly uninspired since it seems to come directly from War of the Worlds, but that's the only real complaint I have. After exhausting every possibility for trying to get rid of these plants, they are destroyed by something as harmless as rain, just like how the Martians are killed by germs people are immune to. Other than this, I think it's pretty damn good. Originally pitched for an episode idea by scriptwriter Stephen Lord to Joseph Stefano, Lord's original idea was to have the plants appear on earth after a flying saucer sprays a beach with spores that turn into the killer plants. This idea went nowhere as Lord felt having the plants appear on earth right from the beginning would not allow the show to hold up for an hour, so most of the final episode takes place in space. By some odd coincidence, a movie had come out around this time called Day of the Triffids, which is based on a book in which alien plants are destroyed by saltwater. Even though I really like this episode, most people (even those involved in making it) seem to hate it. It is actually short by Outer Limits standards, and Stefano had to fill the time somehow by showing shots of the space station spinning in the early sections as often as possible. Did I also mention the "spores" the plants shoot are actually pieces of wheat cereal? Specimen Unknown is just absolute insanity. As someone who watches a lot of other shows from the 60s, I also appreciate how the prop of the crashed shuttle occupied a backlot at MGM that was also being used to shoot episodes for Combat, Vic Morrow's classic Second World War series. Stefano actually had to request more plants to be put around the lot to obscure props being used for that show. In perhaps the most shocking twist of all, Twilight Zone of all shows actually bought the shuttle prop from Outer Limits to be used in the episode Probe 7, Over and Out. To my knowledge, this is the only time that show borrowed something from Outer Limits. Overall, even though this episode seems to be considered a joke by most people (like Behold Eck), it is one of my favorite entries of The Outer Limits due to the antagonists being alien plants.
Crossfire (1947)
Hate never changes
Being arguably the first film noir I ever watched, Crossfire is one of those movies that is relevant no matter the time period because its message of how anger and hate can get you into a lot of trouble is timeless. Unlike a lot of other movies in the genre, it also has a great cast, with the legendary Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan playing two prominent characters. You might be surprised to see Mitchum playing a stable character who is a voice of reason and Ryan playing a nut, when normally, the latter would be played by Mitchum. The plot begins with something that will no doubt get your attention: a shadowy figure is seen violently beating another guy named Joe Samuels to death in a hotel room. When the cops show up, Captain Finlay (Robert Young) thinks the person who did it is part of a group of World War 2 veterans who went to a bar with Samuels the night he was killed. Montgomery (Robert Ryan), a former cop, tells his side of the story to Finlay and says that he and a friend from the military, Floyd, met Joe at the hotel and upon arriving at his room found him talking to Corporal Mitchell. Right after, Mitchell is too drunk and leaves the place to go outside, leaving Joe alone with Floyd and Monty. This was the last time Monty saw Samuels alive. Sergeant Keeley (Robert Mitchum), knowing the cops are suspecting Mitchell even though he is innocent, decides to look into the ordeal himself in order to make sure nothing bad happens to him. According to Mitchell, he heard Monty arguing with Samuels in the room. Upon leaving, Mitchell went to go see Ginny Tremaine (Gloria Grahame), a girl he met at a dance hall. He later awakens in her apartment, but she's gone. Ginny's estranged husband enters the room, and Mitchell leaves. Concurrently, Monty and Floyd are in an apartment together. Monty doesn't want Floyd to reveal his presence in the room to anyone. When Keeley comes to the room, Floyd answers the door and talks with him about the murder. When Keeley disappears, Monty is enraged at Floyd not keeping his promise and beats him to death. He then makes it look like he hanged himself. Under Finlay's supervision, Mitchell's wife later pays a visit to Ginny's apartment as Finlay stays in the stairwell. Mitchell's wife is intent on getting Ginny to admit that she was with her husband at the time Samuels was murdered, thus giving Mitchell an alibi. However, Ginny doesn't admit to knowing who Mitchell is (that is until Finlay reveals himself). Ginny admits she knows Mitchell, but says he never came to her apartment, which is a lie. Her estranged husband then comes back and tells Finlay he knows who Mitchell is, but this doesn't give him an alibi since he could have known him from some other time. Finlay continues to question Monty but gets nothing out of him. He then suspects that antisemitism was the reason for killing Samuels, as Monty is a known antisemite. Finlay tells an easily swayed soldier named Leroy (who was in Monty's unit during the war) a story about how his Irish immigrant grandfather was murdered by a gang of drunks in the 1840s. Finlay's point is that hatred doesn't change and it's up to education to make it a thing of the past. People want to destroy things that they hate since they cause them to be afraid. After Leroy sees Finlay's point, the latter gets Leroy to tell Monty that Floyd wants to meet him somewhere. Leroy gives Monty a piece of paper which has an address where he can find Floyd. Despite the paper giving a different address, Monty instinctively goes back to the apartment he killed Floyd and Samuels in, blowing his cover. By the time he arrives at the apartment, Finlay and a cop are ready for him. After realizing he is done for, Monty tries to run away, but is shot dead by Finlay. Once he's taken care of, Leroy and Keeley grab a coffee. I first saw this movie years and years ago, so I don't remember it being this good. Although Mitchum is one of noir's greatest, he takes the backseat here to Ryan. He portrays a type of antagonist that hadn't really been seen in a film before this: an antisemite. Keep in mind, this was right after the war and the entire world was absolutely shocked to find out about the holocaust. The film has all the visuals you would expect to see in noir, and the darkness shown throughout the various rooms and streets reflects the darkness of Monty's soul. The plot is a little confusing, but after all the noirs I've seen since this, it's gotten much easier to grasp. Overall, Crossfire is a brave movie for taking on the subject that it does, but it was a message that the movie industry (and the world) needed to hear.
Bullitt (1968)
King of Cool
Like many action films even made today, Bullitt is mostly famous for one particular scene and the rest of the movie's plot is pushed to the sidelines. It's still a good movie, but since most of the other scenes don't hold a candle to the famous one in question, it might seem forgettable in some people's views. Steve McQueen, one of the most widely respected action stars of the 60s, stars as the protagonist, which has no doubt helped cement the film's reputation and elevate it to almost mythical status. The plot begins in Chicago, where a mobster named Johnny Ross is meeting with his brother after running from the Chicago Outfit. The next day, cops from California Frank Bullitt, Delgetti and Carl Stanton (Steve McQueen, Don Gordon and Carl Reindel respectively) are tasked by Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) with making sure no harm comes to Ross until Monday, so he can attend a hearing focused on mob crime as a witness. Early Sunday morning, while Bullitt and Stanton are distracted with a phone call, Ross opens his hotel door to two hitmen who proceed to blast him and Stanton with a pump action shotgun at close range. Stanton is killed instantly and Ross is taken to hospital where he later dies. Chalmers thinks this is all Bullitt's fault and calls him inept, so Bullitt hides the fact that Ross is dead from Chalmers so the investigation can continue. It turns out that Ross was in San Francisco because he stole millions of bucks from the mafia and also called a hotel in San Mateo. Bullitt gets in his Mustang to try and track down the people who killed Ross. In one of the best car chases ever put to a motion picture, he chases a Dodge Charger through the descending streets of san francisco until one of the men in the other car sticks a shotgun through the window: the same one used to kill Ross. Bullitt hits his brakes and moves into a blindspot. The charger crashes into a gas station and explodes violently, killing both men. Right after, Delgetti and Bullitt are confronted by Captain Bennett, who has Chalmers at his side. Chalmers gives Bullitt a writ of habeas corpus, but then finds out Ross was dead before Bullitt decided to send him to the morgue as an unidentified man. Bennett invalidates the writ and Bullitt can look into the phone call made by Ross to the hotel. Without a car, Bullitt's girlfriend Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset) has to drive him there. By the time he reaches the hotel, Bullitt finds the girl Ross called strangled to death. After breaking into the girl's briefcase, Bullitt and Delgetti come across a brochure for Italy and cheques intended for people named Albert and Dorothy Renick. Upon gaining access to their passports, Bullitt finds out Chalmers lied to him and sent him to guard a decoy; Albert is a car salesman from Chicago, and his wife was staying in the san mateo hotel. Ross' part in all this is he wanted to use Albert as a patsy so he can fly out of the country without a trace Sunday evening. Delgetti and Bullitt drive to the san francisco airport in order to locate the real Ross. As the jet gets ready to take off for Europe, Ross (with Albert's passport) anticipates Bullitt's pursuit and boards a plane bound for Britain instead. Airport authorities order the plane back to the terminal so Bullitt can search it, but Ross escapes and hides in the grass next to the runway. He shoots at Bullitt, but misses. Ross runs back into the airport as Bullitt tries to search for him. When a guard asks to see Ross' passport, he makes a run for it and shoots a cop. Bullitt catches up to him and shoots him dead with his revolver. On monday, Bullitt goes home and finds Cathy asleep. Being the first American film directed by Peter Yates, I would say Bullitt is quite a movie to start with. The chase scene is one of the most well known in film history, and for good reason. With all the technology they have involved with filmmaking today, it should have been surpassed long ago, but it hasn't somehow. It begins about an hour into the movie and only lasts just under 11 minutes, and because it was shot in a number of locations miles apart, following it in real time is not feasible. The charger used in the film was actually much faster than the mustang, and McQueen (an experienced racecar driver) wouldn't have been able to keep up with it if the assassins didn't lay off the accelerator. Unfortunately, california authorities didn't permit the chase to go onto the Golden Gate Bridge, which would have been something to see. It's also funny to note that Yates didn't want either of the cars to exceed 80 miles an hour, but sometimes they were going as fast as 110, particularly on the much less congested parkway near Brisbane where the chase ends. Even though that sequence is what this movie is most known for, the rest of it is not very action oriented, which might throw off some people looking to watch it and expecting the other scenes to be as exciting. At its core, Bullitt is noir, so I was able to get into it. The only real complaint I have about this movie is Jacqueline Bisset, as she has no meaningful plot contribution in basically the entire thing.
Cry Terror! (1958)
Time is running out
Terrorism and bomb threats have been a plague on airlines all over the world for at least 5 decades. This film is interesting because it focuses on this subject, but at a time when it was mostly unheard of in movies. Because it basically has you on the edge of your seat the entire time, I'm inclined to regard it as one of noir's best, but the ending left a lot to be desired (which I'll get to soon). The story begins with a terrorist named Paul Hoplin (Rod Steiger) trying to blackmail an airline company for half a million bucks. He calls them and threatens to blow up a passenger aircraft with a small device onboard if they don't give him what he wants. Strangely, a tech savvy guy named Jim (James Mason) actually designed the device, but didn't know it was going to be used for this purpose. The plane lands safely, but Paul wasn't bluffing and the FBI finds a bomb on the aircraft. Next time, he plans to blow one up for real. Meanwhile, Paul shows up to Jim's house and takes him, his wife Joan (Inger Stevens) and young daughter Patty hostage. The FBI holds a meeting with the airline's board of directors, and Hoplin threatens them on the phone again. He forces Joan to travel alone to collect the half million from the FBI as two of his goons, Kelly and Vince (Angie Dickinson and Jack Klugman respectively) make sure Jim doesn't step out of line. Once Joan has the money, she goes to an alley where a convertible has been stashed for her. She needs to drive to where Paul is by 1:30. She misses the deadline by one minute, and Paul gives the order to have Jim and his daughter murdered, but then spots a car coming up the road. Paul leaves Joan by herself with Steve (Neville Brand), a violent convicted rapist addicted to benzedrine. Steve tries to rape her at knifepoint, so Joan stabs him to death with a shard of glass she picked up earlier and hid from him. When Paul comes back, he seemingly knows by Joan's nervous demeanor that she murdered Steve, but takes it well. He orders her to get in his car. Paul moves Jim and his daughter into a new location in Manhattan. The cops manage to find out from a piece of gum how Kelly's teeth look like, and begin tracking her down. Paul brings Joan to a secluded location and allows her to talk with her husband on the phone after the feds break into Kelly's penthouse and subdue her and Vince. Paul allows Joan to talk until he discovers a newspaper on the table saying that Kelly and Vince have been caught. Enraged, he tries to kill Joan, but she throws boiling coffee at him and runs for it. Making it to a nearby subway station, she runs onto the tracks while bystanders rush to see what's going on. Eventually, Paul almost catches up to her, but electrocutes himself on the tracks and dies. The cops and Jim show up, and everything's fine. Don't ask me why, because I really have no idea what was going through their minds when they decided to ruin the ending in this way. It's so rushed and it feels really out of place for a noir. Come to think of it, I'm having deja vu with this ending: it's basically the same as Guilty Bystander's, which I talked about a few weeks ago. That film also involves the kidnapping of a child, which was a pretty forbidden subject at the time. If they were going to include it at all, they probably had to have a sappy ending to make up for this. Other than this, I found the movie to be really intense, especially Neville Brand's character. He was a highly decorated veteran of World War II in real life, so basically any time they have him playing a tough guy it really works out in his favor. He is legitimately disturbing and I couldn't imagine being confined to a house with him. As for the terrorism subject of this movie, I found it to be a step into the unknown for noir movies, since I've never seen another one that focuses on it. Prior to September 11th, a few plane hijackings occurred a year and they typically had non-violent conclusions. It's hard not to think about that while watching this, especially given that it takes place in New York. Overall, I found Cry Terror to be up there with the best of movies I've seen lately, but that ending really made part of it go down in flames.
Day of the Dead (1985)
Underground zombies
Aside from basically inventing the zombie genre of horror movies, George Romero seemed to push the limits when it came to how widespread the zombie apocalypses portrayed in his movies were becoming with each successive installment. Night of the Living Dead started it off with the undead swarming a town and farmhouse. Dawn of the Dead has them overtake the entire country, and now this film goes even further and has the zombies basically destroy the world. Even though the former is the case with Day of the Dead, the epidemic doesn't really appear any worse than in its prequel, but the movie does introduce a unique setting which Romero hasn't used before, and it forces more interaction between the characters because it is so claustrophobic. The story starts years after Dawn of the Dead finished. The characters are different, but an integral part of the ending of the last movie kicks off this one: a helicopter. A group of survivors, Sarah (Lori Cardille), Miguel, John and Bill are flying around the Everglades in Florida to see if any other survivors can respond to their pleas for assistance, but they get no answers. John lands the chopper at a former missile base, where they learn the former officer in charge, Major Cooper, is dead. His replacement, Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato), is an incredibly violent and unhinged soldier who is tasked with protecting the survivors in the base along with some scientists who are trying to conduct experiments on captured zombies, thinking they can be made less aggressive. During a meeting, Rhodes and his most trusted man Steel (Gary Howard Klar) threaten to have Sarah executed for standing up for Doctor Logan's experiments. Logan (nicknamed Frankenstein by the military guys) is kind of a nutcase and enjoys gruesomely dissecting the zombies to find out more about their habits. He believes that he is close to a breakthrough, but Sarah finds out that he is using the corpses of Rhodes' men as subjects. Knowing how unstable Rhodes is, Sarah keeps her mouth shut about it. When Logan's experiments fail to provide useful results, Rhodes loses his temper and says he is instituting martial law in the base, and will kill anyone who threatens his rule. Sarah, unsure if she will be one of the people Rhodes kills once her usefulness is exhausted, meets with John and Bill, who live in an RV in a tunnel at the other side of the compound. John expresses his belief that the zombies are retribution from God for humanity's crimes, and wants to take the helicopter for himself, Sarah and Bill and fly to a deserted island. Meanwhile, Logan continues with his experiments and hopes that he can get on Rhodes' good side if they pay off. He has been intensively studying a zombie he calls Bub, who is trained to use headphones, tape recorders, and even handle guns, suggesting he was in the military when alive. Rhodes unexpectedly shows up to the lab and observes Bub, but still thinks this science is a waste of time. Some time later, Steel, two soldiers and Miguel are trying to corral zombies for use in Logan's work, but one of them Miguel is handling gets loose and kills Steel's two friends. Miguel is then attacked by the zombie, leading to Sarah amputating his arm in hopes of making him immune to infection. An enraged Steel shows up to the RV with Rhodes at his side. They mean to shoot Miguel for letting Steel's guys get killed, but Sarah says they're going to have to kill her too. Rhodes cuts off all support for the survivors and scientists. Rhodes then finds out Logan has been using the bodies of his soldiers as nourishment for the zombies, and murders him with his assault rifle. Rhodes rounds up all the survivors and takes their guns from them. He then attempts to threaten John into flying them out of the base with the helicopter. When John refuses, Rhodes shoots Dr. Fisher, Logan's assistant. He forces Sarah and Bill into the caves bordering the base so the zombies will eat them, and Steel beats up John. In the lab, Bub manages to break free of his restraints and finds out Logan is dead. He picks up a discarded handgun and goes to avenge him. Despite the loss of his arm, Miguel decides to head to the surface and kill himself via the zombies, but not before opening the gates to the base, letting thousands of them flood the interior. As they tear him apart, he activates the elevator controls and brings the horde of undead into the base. Upon realizing the situation he's in, Rhodes jumps on a buggy and leaves his men behind to die. Steel and the others manage to survive for a couple of minutes, but the endless swarm of zombies eventually overwhelm them. Rhodes manages to make more progress, but comes across Bub wielding a pistol; something he's definitely not expecting. Before Rhodes can raise his gun, he's shot twice by Bub, who salutes him as the other zombies rip him apart. John (who managed to knock out Rhodes and take his pistol earlier), catches up with Bill and Sarah in the caves as they fight through the undead horde. They climb up a ladder and make it to the helicopter just in time and fly off. Just like its prequel, Day of the Dead ends in the same way, with the survivors leaving in a chopper and leaving their ultimate fates unknown. When compared with its predecessor, I would say that Day of the Dead is probably not as good. I liked the setting, which is a far cry from the wide open shopping mall of Dawn of the Dead, but something feels lacking here. Most of the movie doesn't even focus on killing the zombies, and Logan's experiment's are a big part of the plot, which might put some people off. None of the protagonists are that likable, and Romero seemed to copy and paste some elements of the prequel's story into this one. There's still 4 survivors just like last time, people show up to make their lives harder, etc. Once again, Romero's visual style is unmistakable here, and the movie is quite bloody. Not that Night of the Living Dead wasn't violent, but this film (and DOTD) make it more noticeable because it's not black and white. Tom Savini is back doing the special effects, and he more than delivers. The most shocking display of the work he did is probably when the zombies kill Rhodes, as they literally tear the lower half of his body off. Assisting Savini were some artists who later worked on The Walking Dead, which has no doubt proved its popularity in the realm of zombie related media (if you exclude its lackluster later seasons). Overall, I would say that Day of the Dead is a unique movie. It's not quite as refined as Dawn of the Dead, but still has Romero's signature style attached to it. Only he could make such slow moving monsters something you truly fear.
The Wasp Woman (1959)
The winged menace
After seeing the ridiculous poster for this movie I've known about for years now, I had high hopes for The Wasp Woman. I wasn't expecting it to be any good really (if the promotional image is anything to go by) but I underestimated just how atrocious this film is. It suffers from the same thing that a lot of these monster movies made in the 50s and 60s suffer from, and that's the fact that your main reason for watching doesn't appear until the last 20 or so minutes. Even by that point, the "monster" appears so infrequently that its appearances are little more than speedbumps separating one mundane part of the narrative from the others, and it doesn't help how even in the 60s the monster looked bad. The movie begins at a honey farm where apiaries are kept. Beekeepers are trying to harvest honey from the bees to make money, when someone arrives and informs them they're not keeping honeybees; they're wasps. A scientist at the farm named Mr. Zinthrop (Michael Mark) loses his position because he's been trying to do experiments with the wasps that involves using their enzymes to reverse the aging process of animals. Meanwhile, the head of a cosmetics company, Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) indirectly comes into contact with Zinthrop because people buying her products notice she doesn't look as good as she used to. When her sales drop, she finds out about Zinthrop's experiments involving the enzymes of a queen wasp that can make her appear younger. She agrees to be part of Zinthrop's meddling and she's injected with a serum that is supposed to make her appear 23 again. However, Janice is frustrated since much time passes and nothing appears to be happening, so she sneaks into Zinthrop's lab one night and uses a large amount of serum on herself. At her next press conference, the people who work for Janice notice that she looks drastically different and wonder how this occurred. Zinthrop tries to go warn Janice about the strange behaviors of some of the test animals in the lab, but he gets hit by a car and is confined to a bed. With no one to supervise her anymore, Janice keeps taking the enzymes and finds out her apparent youth comes at a price: she randomly turns into a wasp-human hybrid creature that kills anyone it comes across. Janice kills a watchman and a nurse in Zinthrop's room, and he is forced to get out of bed and put a final stop to Janice's rampage before she kills the secretary, Mary. Zinthrop tosses a vial of carbolic acid at Janice, making her recoil in pain. She stumbles into the path of Bill (Fred Eisley), a worker at the cosmetics company. He uses a chair to ram Janice out the window and she finally dies. What did I just watch? As most people know, monster movies as a genre were having a field day around this time, with such classics as Godzilla, Them, and Beast From 20 Thousand Fathoms. None of these movies have much to do with Wasp Woman. The film that does is none other than The Fly, which was released just a year before this. It's not hard to draw comparisons between the two, as they both involve people unintentionally transforming into human-insect hybrids. I would still say The Fly's premise is a lot better though (well basically everything about it is better). Even though I typically enjoy hilariously bad movies such as this, I felt like Wasp Woman was a tedious slog all the way through. The monster doesn't appear until the waning moments, and the costume for it is just unacceptable. Most of the film is boring as it just takes place in an office building, and the mad scientist is also quite irritating. Overall, I wasn't really pleased with this movie. I knew it was going to bomb, but even fans of this type of thing shouldn't watch it unless you're looking to torture yourself.
Desperate (1947)
Bad Burr
Although I usually say one good actor is often enough to save the overall experience of an otherwise average film, seeing great actors stuck in one or two settings for the entire runtime is when I really start to lose my mind. Because of this, I'm not sure if I'd count Desperate as one of my favorite noirs I've seen recently. It has an interesting story and no parts of it really bored me (unlike a lot of other noirs), but Raymond Burr, one of the genre's best, is hardly seen outside of a few apartments. The film's plot starts when a trucker named Steve Randall (Steve Brodie) gets contacted by one of his friends because he wants him to haul something. When Steve gets to the warehouse rendezvous point, he finds out he was hired to haul illegally obtained goods. Steve tries to back out of it, but he's beaten at gunpoint and stuffed into the truck by a mobster named Walt (Raymond Burr), whose brother is also partaking in the robbery. Shortly after, Steve does something he'll later regret badly and uses the headlights to alert a nearby cop to what's going on. The cop is gunned down by Walt's brother, and more police start arriving to stop the robbery. Steve has no choice but to pull away, leaving Walt's brother to be captured. Later on, Steve is kidnapped by Walt and his goons, who pummel him and threaten to harm his wife Anne (Audrey Long) if he doesn't go to the precinct and absolve Walt's brother of any wrongdoing by midnight. Walt sends one of his men to drive Steve to the police, but Steve jabs the guy in the stomach and hijacks the truck. He calls his wife and says she needs to leave the house right away and get on a train, but doesn't elaborate. Walt is enraged and wants to track them both down by any means. After meeting his wife on the train, Steve explains that he's being chased by a criminal and must not rest until she is somewhere Walt can't reach. His heart sinks when he grabs a newspaper and discovers his face on the front page: the cops have found out about his involvement in the heist. Steve decides to leave the train before anyone recognizes him. Steve then tries to purchase a badly maintained car from a mechanic, but the latter hesitates when he sees Steve is unable to produce his driver's license. Convinced there's something illegal going on here, the mechanic refuses to sell a car to Steve and threatens to summon the cops. Steve manages to steal a jalopy when he's not looking. However, he doesn't get far until it breaks down. They are picked up by a seemingly friendly man who offers to drive them to the farm owned by Anne's parents, but the guy then reveals he's a sheriff and he needs to go investigate reports of a stolen car from a nearby mechanic's shop. Steve fights him for the wheel and makes him crash into a tree. He and Anne push him out and steal his car. Concurrently, Walt learns from one of his spies that Steve plans to visit that farm. Steve goes to meet with a police lieutenant named Ferrari and tries to tell him he's done nothing wrong, but Ferrari knows for a fact Steve hijacked two cars and was at the scene of the robbery. He still allows him to leave because he thinks him being in public will draw out Walt and his thugs. Steve marries Anne, then discovers she's going to have a child. Unbeknownst to them both, Walt's spy is at the wedding and reports his findings to his boss. The cops unexpectedly raid Walt's hideout and he's shot in the abdomen. When he gets better, he tries pursuing Steve to the farm and threatens the owners, but Steve and Anne funnel out just in time. After Steve's daughter is born, he grabs another newspaper, which reads Al (Walt's brother) is going to be executed with the chair tonight. As he reads it, Walt and a thug attempt to kill Steve in a drive-by. Deciding enough is enough, Steve sends his daughter and wife away on a bus while he deals with Walt. He is again confronted by Ferrari, who tells him he knows he is innocent now. He invites Steve to the precinct to get a permit so he can carry a gun. Steve gets captured by Walt about 20 minutes before midnight, and Walt says he plans to shoot him at 12 AM flat, since that's when Walt's brother will be executed. Walt's plans are interrupted by the maid entering the room, so he tries to move Steve to his car so he can shoot him there instead. However, Ferrari and a cop are already waiting outside for Walt. The latter runs back into the building while Steve takes Ferrari's gun and goes after him. After reaching the top of the stairs, Walt is shot by Steve and his corpse falls over the railing right as the clock strikes 12. Ferrari says to give Steve's family his regards. Although this movie sounds pretty complicated, I could have left out a lot of the information here and the story would be just as complete. A lot of things happen during the runtime, but Desperate doesn't drag on to a time it's not supposed to, and doesn't feel overly long. Like I mentioned earlier, Raymond Burr doesn't really appear outside of a single room during most of the movie. He still delivers a good performance as one of noir's most threatening antagonists, but don't expect him to be as well traveled as he is in something like Pitfall. Whichever way you look at it though, Desperate is a rather good noir directed by none other than Anthony Mann, who was a rare American noir director in a genre full of Europeans.
Silver Dollar (1932)
My empire of dirt
I actually can't remember the last movie featuring Edward G Robinson that I watched, which is surprising since he's one of my preferred actors when it comes to 30s and 40s cinema. This movie is unusual for him since for once, he isn't playing a mobster or some other wise guy who sets up arbitrary rules only to break them later on. Chronologically, this might be the earliest movie Robinson has ever been in, due to the setting. It begins in 1876. A farmer from Kansas, Yates Martin (Robinson), takes his wife Sarah (Aline MacMahon) and baby son to Colorado so he can buy a store. Martin's real goal is to acquire gold ore while he's here and get rich. He tries to purchase some unowned land, but some prospectors tell him of a strike in the nearby town of Leadville, so the idea falls apart. In addition to working the store, Martin pays miners in exchange for being prospecting partners with them. This leads to Martin and his wife running out of money and the latter wants to move back to Kansas. However, more prospectors show up and tell Martin they've hit the jackpot and discovered silver. While not as rare as gold, Martin has a third share of the substantial amount of silver ore the men found. Soon, Martin is rich and has more money than he knows what to do with. One new thing he buys is a claim from a miner who appears to be having a difficult time right now, but Sarah suspects a scam. Despite her feelings that this is going to be a bad idea, Martin gives the guy 50 thousand dollars. Soon after, Martin is asked if he wants to be lieutenant governor of colorado, and he says yes. While preparing one of his campaign speeches, Martin's foreman approaches him and says the claim he bought from that guy was worthless and he got ripped off. Martin can't appear nervous or foolish in front of his supporters, so he orders him to keep bringing up silver until the election passes. Martin doesn't expect this to happen, but he actually wins the election and his miners hit a silver vein that yields more money than ever. Using the money, Martin decides to build a lavish opera house for Denver. While it's being built, he visits and is introduced to Lily Owens (Bebe Daniels), a blonde who later becomes his mistress. Martin divorces his wife so he can marry Lily instead, but gives Sarah a quarter of a million bucks. When the opera house opens, one of the guests is famed Civil War general (now president) Ulysses Grant. Martin has enough power, but power leads to the desire for even more. Next, he takes the seat of a US senator and goes to Washington. With a beautiful bride and enough cash to last them both the rest of their lives, it appears Martin has finally made it to his dreamland, but the new president Grover Cleveland adopts the gold standard. In one fell swoop, Martin is ruined and the price of silver plummets. The only thing he has left is his mine, but he's in no mood to continue operating it since it costs more to operate than the silver is worth. He runs into Sarah again, who offers him money, but he declines. Going back to the opera house he helped make, he sits in one of boxes and reminisces on the time he announced his plans as governor to a large crowd. Martin collapses and later dies in his bed with Lily by his side. At his funeral, she and Sarah are both present. This is a decent movie. If you like Robinson's work, you'll be able to get right into it, and the setting is a welcome change of pace from basically all of his other ventures, whether he's being a criminal or not. The only other film I know of that has him in the 1800s is Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet. No matter the time period, he always gave great performances even if many of his Warner Brothers entries are forgotten today, and that's why he'll remain a 30s icon.
Set 'em Up (1939)
Let's go bowling
Being an activity (I don't really count it as a sport) that I think doesn't get discussed often enough, I chose a short focused on bowling to serve as the short for this week. Anyone who's watched shorts from MGM dating from the 30s or 40s will have probably heard Pete Smith's voice before, as he was the studio's main narrator for things of this nature for many years. Set Em Up focuses on a family who goes to a bowling alley which happens to be frequented by Ned Day, a real life champion who demonstrates that getting the perfect form, ball, and ultimately strike is a lot of hard work. When selecting his ball of choice, Ned does so by seeing which one has the hole in line with the middle joint on his middle finger (this was before balls had 3 holes). The film explains that crouching is a common error and your posture needs to be completely straight with your shoulders aligned with the pins as you start your approach. Each pin is 4 and 3 quarter inches wide. Another prevalent issue is the tendency of new players to turn their palms upward as their hand releases the ball, which often results in an off-center trajectory that knocks over the pins on one side but leave the other side untouched. Ned shows how in addition to turning your palm inward right before letting go of the ball, you also need to start your approach correctly: starting with a right step forward, the ball is pushed away from yourself. On the second step, your arm swings back so that the ball is now about a foot to the rear of your right leg. As you prepare to release, the ball should now be on the high point of the backward swing, i.e. About as far backward as you can bend your arm when it's perfectly straight. Finally, you slide forward on your left foot and release the ball with your left knee bent slightly. As expected, Ned gets a strike. One of the family members gets frustrated at his show of skill and hurls the ball as hard as his one hand will allow, resulting in it bouncing loudly right over the pins. Brute force in a game like this isn't everything, and as a small kid later shows, even lightly thrown balls can achieve strikes if they are done accurately. The grandmother also gets a strike. After this, Ned again shows everyone how it's done with a unique trick shot called the one, seven and ten. In this incredibly hard shot, there's only 3 pins to hit; the frontal one, and one behind it on either side. Problem is, they're spaced so far apart that it seems impossible anyone can hit them simultaneously, but Ned manages to do it. He also manages to get a strike with a retractable board deployed in front of his face to block his entire vision of any of the pins. A great bowler will be able to get strikes just by looking at the lane and knowing the laws of physics. Finally, we see Andy Varipapa in action, a talented bowler from Brooklyn but born in Italy. Using unerring precision, he is able to use two balls to knock down the outermost pins from the left and right sides while leaving the center ones standing. Andy attempts a first in bowling history and successfully throws two balls at once on separate lanes and gets two strikes at the same time. Finally, we see another nearly impossible shot from Andy when he successfully knocks over three pins on two separate lanes. The ball hits into the first one at a slight angle, sending it flying across the middle lane and into the right lane, knocking over the one there. The ball then rolls on to strike the two pins in its own lane. There's a humorous ending where the frustrated guy from earlier tries to score a difficult shot featuring only two pins on the far sides of the lane with none in between, and simply uses a bowling ball attached to an axle so there's no chance he won't hit them. While many of these Pete Smith shorts are nondescript, I really like this one since it sheds light on an activity most people don't seem to partake in anymore. While bowling has been around for at least 500 years, its popularity until relatively recently shows how once again the simple things are the best things. An easy to grasp idea, and enjoyable when you're able to trust physics and your muscles to such a degree that you'll hit a strike every time you throw the ball. People have done it before, but even such a simple game is super hard to be a pro at.
Tormented (1960)
"No one will ever have you but me"
I've been putting off watching this movie for over a decade, partly because the one scene I saw of it until now was unbelievably bad. I finally decided to watch it thinking the rest of the film might make up for it, but it didn't. Tormented is a barely mediocre horror film that admittedly has a somewhat interesting paranormal storyline I don't see attempted often enough. A pianist named Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) lives on an island in Massachusetts and is arguing in a lighthouse with his former girlfriend named Vi (Juli Reding) because she plans to stop his plans to marry another girl named Meg. Vi says no one will ever love him like she does, but Tom's plans aren't changing. During the argument, Vi leans against a railing and it snaps. She manages to hold on for a few seconds, but Tom makes no effort to save her and she falls to her death. Shortly after, Tom sees Vi's corpse in the ocean and tries to go after it, but upon reaching the beach, it magically turns into a bunch of seaweed. Tom tries to put the incident out of his mind, but he isn't left alone. When walking on the beach one day with Meg (Lugene Sanders), a third set of footprints appears in the sand, and Vi's watch appears on the beach despite Tom throwing it into the sea when Vi died. Meg is shocked when she notices a bunch of seaweed appear on her wedding dress, even though it's in her room and far away from the sea. During a party for Tom's upcoming wedding, a guest takes a picture of him playing the piano while Meg stands behind him. When Tom sees the picture, he's horrified: Meg's floating head is between him and Meg. Meg insists on seeing the picture, but by the time she does, Vi is nowhere to be found. Tom also sees Vi's disembodied head on a shelf when he's playing piano one day, and even though he refuses to admit he killed her, Vi plans to tell everyone he did. To make things worse, a beatnik named Nick shows up to the island and insists on making Tom make Vi pay for her passage to the island (which she never did). When Tom refuses, Nick finds out Tom is planning to marry Meg and blackmails Tom into paying up. If he doesn't, he'll tell Meg about his other love interest (who he doesn't know is dead). In their final confrontation, Nick and Tom meet in the lighthouse, which is now haunted by Vi. Her ghost tells Tom there's a metal pipe behind him and he ought to use it to murder Nick; once Tom pays, Nick will never stop pestering him about money. Tom heeds her advice and beats Nick to death. One thing Tom wasn't counting on was his heinous act being witnessed by Sandy, Meg's little sister. The wedding goes ahead anyway, but right when the minister prepares to pronounce Tom and Meg man and wife, the church doors fly open for seemingly no reason and all the candles go out. Meg is terrified and the wedding is cancelled. In desperation, Tom goes back to the lighthouse and tells Vi he is going to go away so that she can be alone. Sandy, who followed Tom to the lighthouse, reveals to him she knows about the killing. Tom leads Sandy up to the top floor of the lighthouse where Vi fell and decides she knows too much. He plans to push her over the edge, but Vi's ghost lunges at Tom and he falls off instead. Meg's family search the ocean and find Vi's corpse (which has been there a week) and Tom's. They are laid next to each other on the sand, and it appears Vi finally got her wish of always being with Tom. This movie is pretty bad, but it's bad in an endearing kind of way. Vi is not in it for much longer than 3 minutes, but she resembles Marilyn Monroe a lot in my view. It doesn't really make sense how she supposedly wants to haunt Tom for his decision to be with someone else since she is jealous, but then gives him advice on how to handle Nick later on. The part where she keeps hollering "Tom Stewart killed me" and hopes someone hears her while Tom scrambles to stuff her head into a sack is embarrassingly awful. Still, I know for a fact there are definitely much worse movies in existence than Tormented, as I did like the setting and pacing of it. It doesn't drag on that long, even though the beatnik kid does become pretty annoying. He looks like a rejected character from On the Waterfront. Overall, I thought this movie was quite predictable and most will see the ending coming from a mile away, but because of its original storyline and setting, I wouldn't put Tormented on the huge list of absolute garbage that I've seen over the years. I always say I'd rather things be laughably bad than frustratingly bad.
Patton (1970)
Stars and stripes forever
When people not from the US think of America, one of the first things that probably comes to mind is how crazy as hell we seem to be. Whether it's someone like Evel Knievel or sending men to the moon in a spacecraft that could have exploded at any moment, unwavering determination to accomplish difficult and often dangerous tasks is one of the hallmarks of american history. Arguably, the person who best represents this mindset of stopping at nothing until you reach your goal is George S Patton. This incredible movie follows the eponymous military officer during his time in the Second World War, where he acquired a reputation of causing immense damage to Nazi armies and morale alike. His exploits are still talked about decades later, and even those who fought against him couldn't help but admire the sheer courage he had when it came to leading an army. Although Patton also participated in World War I, the film begins in 1943 North Africa. General George S Patton (George C Scott) is surveying destruction caused to the american II Corps at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, which took place in February 1943. The battle was the first large scale fighting between american and german forces in north africa, and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, leader of Hitler's Afrika Korps, inflicted a crushing defeat on american battalions here. Patton is driven in a jeep to a command post, where he meets up with his subordinate, General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden). After talking with Bradley, Patton assumes command of the II corps and sees to it that everyone is ready to fight. He rips photographs of pinup girls off the walls of a barracks, orders doctors to wear helmets when they're operating, and says any man caught with shoes that aren't shined is going to be flayed alive. Patton is also annoyed at how his British rival, General Bernard Montgomery (Michael Bates) is more concerned with upstaging him than actually winning battles, although "Monty" remains the best commander the brits have. Soon, Patton's men successfully ambush a german formation of troops and tanks at El Guettar after learning Rommel's forces are nearby. Eventually, Axis forces are squeezed out of north africa altogether which leads to Patton and Montgomery trying to formulate an invasion plan for the Italian island of Sicily. Patton wants Monty to capture the important city of Syracuse on the southeast coast while his forces land near Palermo (the capital), then push east to capture Messina, the harbor city at the tip of the italian boot. By doing this, Patton would cut off a retreat attempt by german and italian forces. Patton gets a rude awakening when he receives news that General Eisenhower (who has authority over him) has rejected his plan, since it's too ambitious. Eisenhower wants Patton to assist Monty in the syracuse invasion, then guard his left flank as british forces advance up the coast towards messina. Syracuse is captured, but progress moves slowly after this and Patton takes it upon himself to capture palermo and race to messina. While at a field hospital one day, Patton notices an extremely nervous and shaken up soldier and hits him across the face after discovering he's not actually wounded. In his view, cowardice has no place in his military and people like this don't deserve to sully a place where wounded warriors recuperate. Eisenhower finds out about the incident and reprimands Patton, ordering him to apologize. Furthermore, Patton is shocked to learn that Eisenhower has chosen Bradley, not him, to lead american forces ashore on Normandy come June 1944. With D-day looming, Patton is given command of the First United States Army Group: a fictional unit consisting of inflatable tanks and other decoy things meant to fool german observers into thinking the americans and brits plan to strike Hitler's forces in France at Calais, not normandy. During a war drive, Patton downplays the USSR's involvement in the war and says once the war is over, the world will be led by america and britain. Once again, Patton is told by his superiors that his big mouth is his worst enemy, as the Russians are suspicious enough of what america or its allies will try to do to undermine them postwar. Although he's not at D-day, Patton is given command of the Third Army by Bradley (now his boss). Under Patton, the formation pushes deep into german territory and inflicts serious damage to the germans, but comes to a stop when its supplies are reallocated for Monty's (disastrous) Operation Market Garden. In winter 1944, the Battle of the Bulge begins in the Ardennes forest in Belgium, and Patton must hold against Hitler's last major attack of the war in addition to finding a way to rescue surrounded american paratroopers in the town of Bastogne. On Christmas Eve, fog encompassing the battlefield lifts, which allows american planes to have a field day destroying german tanks. Patton's army punches through the german defensive line known as the Siegfried Line and enters germany. After the country surrenders, Patton hopes he can get sent to the far east to fight the Japanese, but it is not to be. He again attracts much criticism when he compares americans joining political parties to germans joining the nazis. He rants on the phone to another general about how he wishes he could destroy the soviets right now while he has the army to do it with. The way he sees it, america and the soviets fighting is inevitable. While the film makes no mention of this, Patton would later die under mysterious circumstances shortly after the war ended. Officially, it was due to injuries he sustained in a random jeep crash, but as no autopsy was performed on him, rumors are everywhere. This is one of the best movies of the 20th century, and is about one of the most important men of the 20th century. Scott puts on a career defining performance as "Old Blood and Guts" and holds nothing back. Patton was no doubt a bombastic person and you can see how his actions speak way louder than words. In once instance during the campaign in sicily, Patton is frustrated two mules are holding up a bridge his forces are supposed to be crossing, so he draws his pistol and shoots both of them dead. Whether or not this really took place is irrelevant; it's meant to show how nothing got between him and defeating germany. When asked about the custom pearl grips for his handgun, Patton corrects the interviewer and says they're ivory: only those who go to brothels have pearl grips. As expected, the movie has a lot of action, but it goes hand in hand with the story. The hard fought battles in different theaters of war really show how difficult the lives of some of these men were. Some were fighting in the hot Mediterranean sun as of early 1944, and then just months later they were in overcast britain waiting to partake in the biggest amphibious attack of all time. Overall, I don't think I've seen another war film this good since Apocalypse Now three years ago. Given Coppola wrote the screenplay for this, it's hardly surprising.