Capsule Reviews: November
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- DirectorSarah HellingsStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkAn investigation of a car fire and a bludgeon murder lead Barnaby and Troy to investigate the members of a local reading club which has an agenda that goes beyond books.November 1, 2010: A group of ladies making secret stock investments become involved in murder. A shady pool man and a hypochondriacal nobleman are among the suspects in this satisfying episode. I was especially happy to see Barbara Leigh-Hunt, whom I know well from Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972) (1972). Her character is as unlucky here as before. 7/10
- DirectorDavid TuckerStarsJohn NettlesDaniel CaseyJane WymarkA woman is found dead in Setwale Wood, an apparent suicide, except that her suicide note is emailed after her body has already been sighted.November 1, 2010: The selling of a farm provides the backdrop for murder, while a little girl witness does some detecting for Barnaby. Entertaining episode with a not-especially-satisfying ending. The girl detective is a nice touch. 6/10
- DirectorIzzy SparberThomas JohnsonStarsJackson BeckGilbert MackJack MercerPopeye and Olive are shipwrecked; they think they are saved when they see a ship, but what they don't realize is that the crew of the Sea Witch is all ghosts, and soon they are under attack, but they don't know from what for a while.November 1, 2010: Popeye and Olive attempt to sail a ghost ship to civilization, but the ghosts plays pranks on them to prevent it. Not enough is done with the premise, but there are a few laughs: Olive is happy over her impending rescue mainly so that she can get back home and watch television. 4/10
Ironically, this was the last theatrical "Popeye" cartoon: TV helped kill off the short subject. Popeye and Olive did not return to the screen until the 1960 TV series, Popeye the Sailor (1960). - DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge BrentDonald CookA young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank by gleefully seducing her way to the top.November 3, 2010: The pre-release version of this tale—in which Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way up the corporate ladder—watered it down with a phony ending. The theatrical version (which I just watched) waters it down even further with a silly post-script. And Mr. Cragg—a follower of Nietzsche who advises her to use men—now advises her, via post-dubbing, to get ahead by being clean! Nietzsche isn't mentioned at all. Before the pre-release version was discovered, this version still would have been well worth watching; but now the older edit is the one to see.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsCharles BronsonHope LangeVincent GardeniaA New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.November 4, 2010: Charles Bronson is a bleeding-heart liberal who becomes a vigilante after three thugs murder his wife and rape his daughter. Extremely effective crime thriller, although the implausibilities (especially involving the motivations and actions of the corrupt police) stack up too high in the last third. 8/10
- DirectorMontgomery TullyStarsJohn IrelandHonor BlackmanGeoffrey KeenCrowds flock to a carnival sideshow to see "The Starving Man", a heavyset man who claims he can go 70 days without eating. However, a couple of murders occur at the carnival, resulting in the police becoming involved.November 4, 2010: The morose John Ireland is miscast as a freak show impresario promoting a "starving man" act. Why the public would be fascinated by a man fasting for seventy days in a sealed glass room is anyone's guess. The unconvincing carnival atmosphere adds too little to an uninteresting murder story. Yet another dull Hammer Noir. 3/10
- DirectorMontgomery TullyStarsDane ClarkCecile ChevreauPaul CarpenterA failed business deal forces James Nevill to blackmail his weak-willed friend into murdering him so that his wife can collect his insurance, but circumstances suddenly change.November 4, 2010: Dane Clark stars as a risk-taking business who believes his latest risk has just ruined him. He pays a shady friend to kill him so that his wife can collect insurance. When his fortunes turn, he changes his mind—but it may be too late. Dull, tedious, implausible and predictable. Some well-lit shots are about the only virtues. 3/10
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsKaren BlackOliver ReedBurgess MeredithA family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.November 5, 2010: A family—husband, wife, young son and aunt—move into a mansion that seems to be out to harm them. The plot wavers between admirably restrained and irritatingly elliptical and has a predictable ending; but the familiar haunted house stuff is made very engaging on the whole, thanks to good direction and a fine cast. Bette Davis (the aunt) gives her supporting role her considerable best. Karen Black (the wife) is the one exception—her acting is distractingly self-conscious. 7/10
- DirectorWilhelm ThieleStarsJohnny WeissmullerFrances GiffordJohnny SheffieldAs World War II rages, a formation of German paratroopers land in the hidden city of Palandria to exploit its wealth and they start taking hostages. Can Tarzan, the king of the jungle, and his animal companions Cheeta and Buli save them?November 7, 2010: Tarzan learns the follies of isolationism and pacifism when Nazis invade the jungle and kidnap Boy. Tasteless and silly—but entertainingly bad—series entry (the first for RKO, picking up from MGM). Jane, visiting her sick mother, doesn't appear; Zandra (Frances Gifford), a jungle princess, provides the female flesh. Tarzan is at his most bloodthirsty: he, Boy and even Cheeta are shown gleefully killing off Nazis. 4/10
- DirectorWilhelm ThieleStarsJohnny WeissmullerNancy KellyJohnny SheffieldWith Jane still away for the war effort, Tarzan and Boy set off to retrieve rare medicinal herbs, only to run into an American messenger, German spies, and the mysterious desert's treacherous fauna and flora.November 7, 2010: Tarzan and Boy join an American vaudeville performer (Nancy Kelly) on a quest across the desert to find a cure for jungle fever and clash with a pair of duplicitous friends of a sheik. Silly, stupid fun, enlivened by incongruous fantasy elements (which include a weird man-eating plant, giant lizards and a giant spider) but weighed down by Kelly's tedious slangy patter. 4/10
- DirectorPaul AaronStarsPatty DukeDiana MuldaurCharles SiebertDevoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf and blind Helen Keller into the light of learnedness.November 7, 2010: A first-rate play gets its second of two first-rate screen adaptations. 8/10
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsIngrid BergmanCharles BoyerCharles LaughtonIllegal refugees lead dark lives in pre-World War II Paris.November 7, 2010: Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer are star-crossed lovers in France just before Nazi occupation; Charles Laughton (who gets too little screen time) is the Nazi torturer Boyer is determined to kill. Starts off well, but the story eventually bogs down with a number of repetitive scenes and a lot of pseudo-profound dialogue. Moody black-and-white photography and Bergman's luminous beauty are the best things about it. 6/10
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsCharlize TheronChristina RicciBruce DernBased on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.November 9, 2010: Charlize Theron plays the real-life Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who murdered seven men. Theron, with the help of makeup by Toni G., disappears into her role the way Lon Chaney and Paul Muni used to disappear into theirs. It's a great performance; and Christina Ricci, as her teen-age lover, gives excellent support. The remarkable script and direction are from Patty Jenkins, who allows us to sympathize with Wuornos and at least one of her victims. Good use is made of popular songs. 8/10
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.November 10, 2010: Al Pacino, in one of the great movie performances, plays a desperate New Yorker heading a bank robbery that goes comically and poignantly awry. Eventually there's a stand-off between him and the police, which becomes a live-television news event. Based on a true story; directed by Sidney Lumet. 9/10
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsBrad PittFrances McDormandGeorge ClooneyA disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.November 11, 2010: 8/10
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGary CooperMarlene DietrichAdolphe MenjouA cabaret singer and a Legionnaire fall in love, but their relationship is complicated by the results of his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who wants her for himself.November 11, 2010: 8/10
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichCary GrantHerbert MarshallA cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely-ill husband's operation.November 12, 2010: 8/10
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsMaggie SmithRyan PhillippeMichael GambonSet in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.November 12, 2010: 8/10
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsMarilyn MonroeJoseph CottenJean PetersAs two couples are visiting Niagara Falls, tensions between one wife and her husband reach the level of murder.November 13, 2010: 6/10