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ldoyon01
Reviews
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
kirk and Burt
i've always loved this movie.the first time i remember it was from the old NBC's Saturday night at the movies. granted it's not the most historically accurate film, however Burt and kirk's charisma jumps off the screen. the rest of the cast is extremely solid, including the immortal western villain Lyle Betteger. he was in scores of westerns in the mid 50's to mid 60's. However the main core is kirk and Burt's loyalty to each other, as summed up when kirk says if i'm gonna die i'm gonna do it with the best friend i ever had. similar to that is val Kilmer's line in tombstone, when Buck Taylor asks him why he's there instead of in a hospital, val Kilmer says Wyatt Earp's his friend. Buck says i got plenty of friends, and val says i don't. those two scenes in gatokc, and tombstone sum up the essence of doc and Wyatt's friendship.
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
let's remember harry
first of all let's get to Horst Buchholz, he was a young German actor who John Sturges thought'd be a star. Because of that he got a lot of choice lines. Two, each character gets his own moment in the sun, with a speech. Vaughn, about his fears, Bronson, about the weight of responsibility, Coburn, about his code of honor and what he will tolerate, McQueen, about a hope and a dream, Buchholz, his own frustration and self hatred, Brynner, his knowing it's not the amount being paid but the value put on it. Last but not least, my favorite character, Harry Luck, as played by Brad Dexter. Harry's the one looking for an angle. His part although small is interesting for the many facets of his character. His practicality is measured by the fact he wants to split when he feels the odds are too steep. His sense of loyalty which is a contrast illustrated by his final scenes. For Harry it's a constant battle, he's a mercenary but there's a knight wanting to come out, as evidenced by his death scene. As for Wallach, his fatal mistake is attaching his own values to the seven, which is in a way combining his intelligence and ego.
Firecreek (1968)
two men holding on to a greased pig
James Stewart and Hank Fonda are two of America's greatest actors, and Firecreek is a good example of their work. Henry Fonda's men are what would be called regulators. They'd be hired by cattlemen's associations to stop rustling by any means possible in areas where there isn't organized law or the territory is too big. James Stewart's part time farmer sheriff is a little too long in the tooth, but then again Firecreek is let's face it a one horse town. What I always liked in this movie is Stewart's redemption and rediscovery of self worth, and Fonda's descent into what he hates most. his death scene is very sad. as Fonda says "Me and that sheriff are a lot alike, we're holding on to a greased pig and don't know how to let go."
Duel at Diablo (1966)
garner and poitier
this is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. i saw it at the movies in my youth. garner,the grizzled frontier scout, poitier, ex calvaryman, now supposed money hungry civilian, have the biggest parts. they're ably supported by bill Travers, and Dennis weaver. weaver's part is the most complex, as the bigoted freighter, will grange. on one hand, he wants to restart his relationship, but on the other he can't accept what happened to her. yet in the end as terrible as weaver is you still sympathize with him. garner is also sympathetic due to his understanding why the Indian problem exists in the first place. i never was particularly enchanted by Bibi andersson's performance in this movie. however it doesn't detract from the movie. garner and weaver's performances though are better than in their second partnership in A Man Called Sledge.
The Jayhawkers! (1959)
Jeff's best role
Jeff Chandler's performance as Luke Darcy is a classic. He's a megalomaniac, but in some ways you're drawn to him. You know he's a bad guy, yet you're struck by his intelligence and charisma. The line "I'm giving you your dream, and don't worry about me, I've got Kansas." is a classic and it tells you he's got to be stopped. I wish this movie was on DVD, along with his other fine films Broken Arrow, and Pillars Of The Sky. As noted, He might've been able to tackle roles as a character actor had it not been for a tragic mistake during back surgery at the young age of 42. I have always been a fan of Jeff Chandler, and wish more of his films were on DVD.
The Wrecking Crew (1968)
a decent film
the wrecking crew was the last of Dino's Matt helm flicks. i always thought as bad as some people thought this was, I felt the ambushers was worst. Granted Dean was a little long in the tooth for this role but it wasn't as bad as say, Cannonball Run, where it was obvious he was only doing it for his own reasons. I always thought Dean after seeing this film felt he couldn't do the role anymore. i thought that was why he didn't do the ravagers which had been announced as the next Matt Helm movie. I only tonight discovered in an IMDb mini bio that he was so distraught after Sharon Tate's death he refused to do the role any longer. as a dean martin fan i enjoyed his film and singing career.
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
the good ship Bogart
i love this movie. it's one of my favorite movies. Fred McMurray's Keefer is a downright sleaze, who by todays standards would be considered as a study in passive aggressiveness. Whereas Bogie's Queeg is worn out by his duty. Bogie is masterful in his performance, but it's also clear the centerpiece of this film is Fred MacMurray, as Keefer who isn't someone you want to be in a foxhole with. Robert Francis is clearly playing someone who knows the book but needs real life experience. Francis wasn't as bad as he's portrayed in this movie. I've seen his other two movies They Rode West, and The Long Gray Line, which he was in before dying in a plane crash at the age of 25. Given the chance he probably would've became a solid actor. The supporting cast of well known and soon to be well known character actors is top notch.
Kings Row (1942)
original casting thoughts
Kings Row was bought by Hal Wallis, then the number two man at WB, Warner Brothers. As there was often trades made between studios for leading actors and actresses, Wallis originally wanted Tyrone Power to play Drake, and Henry Fonda to play Parris, but he couldn't talk Darryl Zanuck into it. Ronald Reagan proved his strength as actor in this movie. Bob Cummings is felt as being weak in his portrayal of Parris. However Parris's character is played with the right touch of not so much weakness as being naive. Henry Fonda would've brought more intensity to the role, but I'm not sure he could've brought out the essence of how sheltered a life Parris had lived as child, and later teenager. That's what Cummings brought to the role.
Stagecoach (1966)
not classic but well done
stagecoach 1966 is a well made film. it only comes up short when compared to the original. Granted Alex Cord is no John Wayne, then again who is. If you look at the other actors and actresses their parts are a little more fleshed out. We learn a little more about the characters throughout the film as compared to 1939. This is another 20th Century Fox Film from my youth that deserves to be at least on VHS if not on DVD, just like the recently released to DVD, What A Way To Go. It amazes me that the film studios will pop out so many dvds that are dreck and ignore classic movies, there are other movies that deserve to be on DVD, such as Major Dundee, Fort Apache, Ride The High Country and others.
What a Way to Go! (1964)
great flick
one of the great comedy films of my youth. you can't beat it for star power. although i'm not a shirley maclaine fan, she does a very good job. as for the male leads, what can you say, vandyke, newman, mitchum, kelly, cummings, and one of the five greatest entertainers of our time, the late great Dean Martin. This film begs for a DVD release, or at least a VHS release. You'd be hard pressed to make a film today with that much star power, although you could make some interesting casting choices, such as george clooney in mitchum or martin's part or maybe bill murray in van dyke's part. Once again, 20th Century Fox, please release this movie on DVD, as well as other classic movies under the fox banner.