It's Always About the Story: Conversations with Alan Ladd, Jr. (2016) User Reviews

documentary - Alan Ladd Junior

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 10 December 2017]

This is a Turner Classics production, with an introduction by Ben Mankiewicz and director Stanley Isaacs. As the film itself starts, Mel Brooks talks about the making of Young Frankenstein, and Alan Ladd's connection to the film. Ladd's father was the renowned actor in SO many films over the years, but Ladd Junior was a studio executive at numerous different studios, before leaving to form his own company. It moves pretty slowly, as Ladd seems to have had a stroke, or at least has difficulty speaking. Apparently, Ladd was willing to tackle some tricky film projects that the big studios were scared to touch, or at least were unwilling to fund with large budgets. Clearly, for Ladd, it's all about the P & L (and rightfully so). We see the stats for each film he discusses, and boy, he did some biggies. Mostly huge successes, he DOES talk about some of the losses. And of course, they include the info on the Oscars they did or didn't receive. Pretty interesting stuff. I recommend watching it, if you can find it. Have the pause button ready.... they keep showing full screens of summaries for people and films, but the screens disappear after just a few seconds.

Good Documentary on Ladd

[Michael_Elliott · 5 January 2018]

It's Always About the Story: Conversations with Alan Ladd, Jr. (2016)

*** (out of 4)

This documentary clocks in just under a hour and features Alan Ladd, Jr. talking about his time as a producer. Throughout the running time we get to hear stories about a variety of movies including STAR WARS, THE OMEN, POLICE ACADEMY, THELMA & LOUISE, ALL THAT JAZZ, SILENT MOVIE, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and countless others. Ladd is on hand to discuss his ideas on certain movies and why he has so much faith in the actual filmmaker. He also tells a wonderful story on why he's never watched THE RIGHT STUFF. If you're a fan of these films then you'll certainly enjoy hearing from Ladd. The producer is often overlooked when it comes to movies so it's nice to see him get some attention and get a spotlight on him. Mel Brooks is also on hand and tells some wonderful stories about the films he made with Ladd including a hilarious one about HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1. The documentary keeps its focus on Ladd's producing career and stays away from everything else. I would have prefered a more detailed film and I'd argue that some of the title cards are a bit annoying but this is still very much worth watching.