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dnhalliday
Reviews
Ticket to Paradise (1961)
Good Music
I watched this film for Patricia Dainton, an admirable actress who certainly does not disappoint. As other reviewers have noted, the story is pretty lightweight but Patricia Dainton and Imrys Jones make a likeable couple and there are enough interesting characters and amusing incidents to hold the viewer's attention for the fairly short duration of the action.
Apart from the leading lady I also enjoyed the music which was provided by a small combo of piano accordian mandolin guitar and a couple of others. At any rate there were no syrupy strings to be heard and it sounded authentically Italian.
Le serpent (2006)
From Hull to Paris
Ted Lewis wrote "Plender" after the success of Get Carter and as I understand it offered it to Mike Hodges the director to film as a follow up but Hodges was busy with other projects and it had to wait 35 years until Eric Barbier took it on.
The book is an unrelentingly bleak story of the seedy underworld of Hull and its environs with elements of class and local power politics, so I was interested to see how a French film maker would depict it. In the event he completely changed the story retaining only one or two characters and scenes from the book. The dvd has an interview with the director in which he says he is a Ted Lewis fan and has read all his books but then fails to explain why he discarded Lewis' story in favour of his own.
So we must forget the book and consider the film on its own merits. Clovis Cornillac is splendidly sinister as Plender and the rest of the cast act well in their roles. Olga Kurylenko appears nude as per the publicity but her scenes are very brief.
Barbier's rewritten story is pretty good with plenty of tension and plot twists and the photography and general direction are also well up to par.
I particularly liked the sets at the beginning of the staircase to Vincent's studio and towards the end of the abandoned asylum.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Good film but parts are not credible
The action of this film takes place on a remote,craggy island off the west coast of Ireland; so we are in "Father Ted" territory. I was waiting for him to turn up and in fact a priest does arrive on the island and turns out to be quite comical but in a different way.
I found the film funny and entertaining until the finger chopping after which it was horrible and unbelievable. I appreciate a parallel was being drawn between the private quarrel on the island and the civil war on the mainland. A country which fights a civil war mutilates itself - yes, but the parallel is not very exact. Both sides are mutilated in civil war but only one party was in the island quarrel and the civil war ended pretty soon but the quarrel was set to drag on endlessly.
The incredible parts: 1. Someone whose main interest seems to be playing the fiddle would not mutilate themselves so they could not do so. Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear not the fingers he used to paint with.
2. A donkey would not eat a severed finger and even if it did to choke to death it would have to be stuck in its craw, not its mouth where Padraic finds it.
3. No priest (apart perhaps from Father Jack) would say "God does not care for donkeys" as they would know God cares for all his creation.
As I write this the Bafta awards are due tonight and I hope this film wins an award for acting or cinematography which were both superb- but not best film or script.
Emily (2022)
Visually topnotch
Knowing nothing of the historical life of Emily Bronte I was not troubled by any of the inaccuracies mentioned by other reviewers and found the story engrossing. Visually the film was excellent with cinematography, lighting, costumes and setting all top notch.
However, I have some criticism of other aspects. First the voices. Amelia Gething as Anne seemed to have a northern accent but Emma Mackey and some of the other actors made no attempt at one. Surely a voice coach could have improved things.
Secondly the script contained anachronisms. I cannot imagine that Branwell Bronte ever said "Give it some wellie"
Thirdly the use of music. The musical score was excellent and generally added to the mood of the film but in two places to my recollection the music built slowly to a magnificent crescendo. Each time I expected some great dramatic denoument but it led up to nothing. These musical effects could have been used to build up to the death or announcement of the death of the curate and Branwell.
Finally an observation. There is a scene towards the end where Emily, having gone through all the preceding trauma, sits down with a pen and blank paper to start writing Wuthering Heights. Many viewers will find this moving but I could not help thinking of the Monty Python sketch " Novel writing from Wessex". I was just waiting for a jaunty sports commentator type voice-over as soon as she started wring.
The Challenge (1960)
An exciting crime thriller
This film contains a surprisingly high level of violence; in particular the kidnapping scene where the boy's grandmother is beaten up. Even nowadays when gory violence seems to be the norm, it mainly happens to men and I think most film producers would hesitate before depicting a helpless old lady being beaten senseless in prolonged and graphic detail, in this case made more realistic and believable by good acting from Barbara Mullen.
The same thug who beat her is later arrested in his bedroom by the police sending in a dog followed by three heavies who give him a savage beating before driving him to the station where he is threatened with more unless he gives the location of the boy.
Whether her acting is good or bad the producers probably wanted Jayne Mansfield as added glamour which she provides by looking stunning particularly towards the end when she sings in her club.
Overall this is an exciting and entertaining thriller.
Shipmates o' Mine (1936)
More Drama less Music
This film is billed as a musical but I would describe it as a drama interspersed with snatches of song and a musical finale tacked on at the end.
Mike Dooley the Irish crewmember gives us two Irish songs in authentic fashion and there are a couple of nautical songs and a well known comic song sung by one of the farmers. The finale consists of a lady (presumably Polly Ward) singing and dancing with the Sherman Fisher Girls, a reprise of one of the nautical songs by a male chorus and then the highlight of the whole film a rendering of the title song by a splendid bass who even surpasses Peter Dawson's version.
This film is reasonably entertaining as long as you do not expect fully realised musical numbers. The screenplay is good and Wallace Lupino has a couple of comic turns. (Although the print has been digitally remastered the sound is crackly in places and you need to listen carefully to catch the dialogue).
The opening shots of ships in the First World War seem to be stock footage with shots of the officers on the bridge done in the studio.when the ships collide,however, no expense is incurred as it conveniently happens in fog so we never see either ship and the scenes of abandoning ship are obviously all done in the studio.
The cast list includes someone called just "Navarre" but does not specify which character they play. Curiously an actor by the same name played Marlena's showhorse in Water for the Elephants in 2011.
The Man Inside (1958)
Unfortunate miscasting but still enjoyable
Nigel Patrick gives a great performance as usual, ably supported by screen stalwarts such as Sid James Donald Pleasance Gerard Heinz and especially Anthony Newley. Anita Ekberg provides the glamour and there are lots of exotic locations in Europe.
However, Jack Palance is woefully miscast as the romantic lead and this film would have been far better if he had swapped roles with Bonar Colleano and played the villainous heavy.
Having said that there is still a lot to enjoy as the story is good and there are plenty of entertaining scenes and dialogue. I liked the scenes on the train and particularly those with the precocious little girl.
Incidentally, the train seems to start out in Paris as the famous Golden Arrow but ends up being pulled by an ordinary tank engine.