12 mini-reviews for the short attention span, taken from dark corners of stevenl's video vault:

The 39 Steps / directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1935, DVD). Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Wylie Watson, Ivor Barnard (uncredited). The King of the "Innocent Fugitive" genre movies. And so Hitchcockian. A man falsely accused, Freudian train images, a blondy blonde heroine, a smorgasboard of the little cruelities of human nature, themes of trust and paranoia, sudden and surreal scene changes. Dark and murky visuals as the Canadian hero spends most of the story on the run throughout Scotland. The story begins and ends with a very rowdy London audience attending a live variety show. And, as only Hitchcock could do, tragedy was presented against the backdrop of light entertainment, as he did in Sabotage. This use of diversion-seekers at both start and finish makes it appear almost as if Hitch was trying to make us see ourselves and become interactive with the story. His lifelong theme of spies serving unnamed enemies is all over this one, although one member of the spy ring does have a little Hitler toothbrush moustache. Hitch knew his era and realized what buttons to push in order to rile his contemporary viewers in 1935. The plot also moves along at a quicker pace than most others in the 1930s. Great little details, such as the newspaperboy insistently hawking the news of a murder in the background-- news the hero would just as soon be forgotten. Other directors might kill the scene with corny music, but here the boy's voice is soundtrack enough to create a feeling of total anxiety. There is a fun short clip of an early police helicopter. I first saw this movie on the big screen in college, and although the TV screen version is not bad, this film really deserves mondo wall space.

The Caine Mutiny / directed by Edward Dmytryk (1954, DVD). Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis, May Wynn, E.G. Marshall, Lee Marvin, Claude Akins, Jerry Paris, Whit Bissell (uncredited). "Everybody's a screwball in some way. That doesn't make them crazy," or so says Lt. Steve Maryk as he wrestles with the moral decision over the mental health of his commanding officer Capt. Queeg aboard the WWII minesweeper Caine. Although Queeg (portrayed by Bogart) is the center of attention in this tale, the real central character is Lt. Maryk. And as Maryk, Van Johnson's performance as a good soldier trying to do the right thing is excellent. I like Johnson's complex Maryk performance better than Henry Fonda's hero in the parallel comic version, Mr. Roberts (1955). Bogart as the paranoid Queeg uncannily anticipated the body language and mannerisms of the future President Nixon with a little of Fred C. Dobbs thrown in. The climatic courtroom scene was one of Bogie's greatest moments on screen. Fred MacMurray, who I normally can't stand, really worked in the role of a weasle-like Svengali. Watch for Lee Marvin and Claude Akins in the comic relief supporting roles. Ferrer's brief but powerful presence helped add some punch to the story as it started to flag. Yes, this film is long. Too long. It has a totally pointless and insipid romantic subplot that only dilutes the picture. At the risk of bringing out the 9-year old boy in me, ditch the gushy love stuff and use the fast forward through these scenes. The soundtrack is very repetitive and annoying. The direction traditional and workmanlike-- not bad but nothing special. Wouldn't mind seeing this tightened up, re-edited, and rereleased with more of a focus on the dynamics of the mutiny itself.

Dark Passage / directed by Delmer Daves (1947, VHS). Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Clifton Young, Douglas Kennedy, Rory Mallinson, Houseley Stevenson. In a sick way, the "It's a small world after all" theme could be applied to this movie, but it would detract from the classy ambiance of the telling although it does seem strange how coincidentally tight the social connections are in the plot. This cinematic tale is told in three parts, all centering around Bogart. First, we see Bogie escape from prison from his point of view. This means the camera shows the way the story unfolds literally through the eyes of the beholder. His voiceover is provided. It is 3-D without the "3." Second, we see Bogie swathed in wrapping from his plastic surgery, he can't talk, so he's a surreal mime although there are moments where his voiceover continues. Finally we get Bogart unleashed, but by this time he's become some kind of passive/aggresive thing, something most in the audience can't identify with. But we still find ourselves on his side, even if he does have a magic ability to have multiple crimes not perpetrated by him hung on his neck ("The Indian Sign" he calls it). In this sympathy, we find ourselves allied with Bacall's character, who really steals this movie. Bogart is more victim than victor here, and the sense of justice being realized just doesn't happen in a way that satisfies. A great job of casting in this story, 100 % perfect I'd say. I especially liked the cabbie as a hero (my old occupation!) (D'Andrea), the reprobate plastic surgeon (Stevenson), and the "Baker" blackmailer guy (Young) who looked liked an evil Jimmy Carter. Moorehead and Bennett were wonderful in their roles. Plus a whole parade of Warner Brothers character actors you've seen a gazillion times but could never quite name. There are some clumsy continuity problems with quick close-up cuts and then back to the action. Watch this in the three parts I have suggested with breaks for popcorn, urine relief, or feeding your pet porcupine and it will be much less laborious and resentment-inducing. Not a great movie, but unusual and worth watching at least once.

"Basil the Rat" (Fawlty Towers) / directed by Bob Spiers (1979, VHS). John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, John Quarmby. Don't watch this one right before you go out to a restaurant. In this final episode of the series, Fawlty Towers gets a visit from the Health Inspector. We finally get to see Manuel's room and meet his pet, Basil, a "Siberian Hamster" who is, in fact, a giant rat. And he gets loose. My cat Buster actually got interested once the TV cat started yowling in the FT kitchen. The final scene is priceless and guest actor Quarmby really played his part to perfection. Cleese and company finished the series off with a gem. There are only a dozen of these shows. It is nice to see that such a fine program didn't degrade over time but stayed consistently fresh and funny.

The House of Yes / directed by Mark Waters (1997, VHS). Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr., Geneviève Bujold, Rachael Leigh Cook. A very dark and sophisticated story set in Washington D.C. in 1983. A young man brings his well-adjusted fiance home to meet his incredibly dysfunctional family, most notably his on-the-edge twin sister. Making a bid for the normal world, he attempts to draw belated boundaries around his point of origin with tragic results. Maybe it's all relative (nyuk, nyuk). "Excuse me," the mother says as she prepares dinner, "I'm going to baste the turkey and hide the kitchen knives." Originally written as a play, the movie does have a stagey feel and almost all the action takes place in one house, the House of Yes. I liked the lighting, the soundtrack, the pacing, and it was nicely choreographed. I'm dimly aware Spelling and Prinze were mostly associated with teen films and TV, but I'm not familiar with their other work and was able to appreciate their superb acting here without any prejudice. Nobody has directly told me I'm supposed to dismiss them as actors. Disturbing but effective chemistry between Posey and Hamilton. Includes themes of incest, murder, Jackie O., and the JFK assassination. Viewers more worldly than myself might call this a comedy. I see it more as a Morality Tale.

 

Thomas Jefferson / directed by Ken Burns (1997, VHS off-air). George Will, Gore Vidal, Daniel Boorstin, Garry Wills, Ossie Davis (Narrator), voices by Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Waterston, Julie Harris, Derek Jacobi, Arthur Miller, George Plimpton. A favorite subject for students of paradox, Thomas Jefferson remains one of the most enigmatic of our Founding Fathers. A visionary who was also a captive of his era, he articulated the spirit of American liberty and human rights in the beautiful Declaration of Independence, yet was a total racist when it came to Native Americans and African Americans. He was a champion of small government and states' rights, yet took matters into his own hands as President when ordering an embargo and arranging the Louisiana Purchase. A small army of historians and writers tell us how Jefferson's contradictions reflect the conflicts in the founding and early years of the United States. Such disparate characters as George Will and Gore Vidal share their insight. Ken Burns is one of the few documentarians that has such an indentifiable personal style, raising the sharing of history to an art form. I love the way he'll focus on some inanimate object and through the voiceovers give that item a lot of meaning. He really has a creative gift for telling the story. The choice of Ossie Davis as the narrator, with a voice that is elderly and not smooth, took me off-balance at first. No fault of Burns, but unfortunately I kept associating Ossie's speech with his character in Bubba Ho-tep ("I'm thinking with sand here!"). I've done the Jefferson pilgrimage: visited Monticello, Jefferson's grave, Williamsburg, University of Virginia. It wasn't until later I learned Tom and I share (with thousands of others) immigrant ancestors, Christopher and Mary (Addie) Branch who came to Virginia in the 1620s. So this American Renaissance Man is a distant cousin! Neato. Historians will probably never let the dust settle on Jefferson. Since this was filmed in 1997, DNA tests have concluded that slave Sally Hemings' children were fathered by a member of the Jefferson family. Just one of the many continuing controversies surrounding a man who served as President two centuries ago. I was really struck by Jefferson's radical educational vision in establishing the University of Virginia. I think he would've been right at home during the McCann years at The Evergreen State College when that institution had a more libertarian bent.

Kids in the Hall. Season 1, episode 10 (1990, DVD). Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson. Hoopla, McGuillicutty and Green, Wake up!, MacIntyre name, One step at a time, Nobody likes us, McGuillicutty and Kurosawa, Three for the moon. It amazes me to see how this group can cram so many terrific concepts into a mere 30 minutes. They are really hitting their stride with this episode. Hard to pick a favorite moment, but I'd say McKinney was great as the scene stealing yet wordless sister in "Wake up!" and he had a nice moment in "MacIntyre name."

"The Crooked Man" (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) / directed by Alan Grint (1984, DVD). Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Lisa Daniely, Denys Hawthorne, Norman Jones, Fiona Shaw. Holmes, who seems a bit petulant, is dragged into a mystery by his friend and colleague Dr. Watson. This story has no sense of urgency or dire consequence and seems more subdued and sad than exciting or brain teasing. It is obvious from Brett's appearance he is giving his nervous system to the series. Holmes is as other-wordly as ever, and nowhere is this more evident than in a scene that takes place in a raucously warm bar. Even Watson is smiling, but the Great Detective will have none of it. Norman Jones as the Crooked Man comes across as a less intense version of Anthony Hopkins. In the end, this is more a love story than a mystery.

Santa Fe Trail / directed by Michael Curtiz (1940, VHS). Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, Van Heflin, Ward Bond. Rather than being about the Santa Fe Trail, this grainy and washed out (at least my public domain copy is in that shape) film is an incredibly inaccurate version of the life of J.E.B. Stuart, starting with his attendance at West Point in 1854 and ending with the execution of abolitionist John Brown in 1859. Most of the story is set in Bloody Kansas, where abolitionists are portrayed as dark characters. They are accompanied by low, brooding music. They are humorless, skulking, abusive. They have 5 o'clock shadows. African Americans are on display in the stereotypically comic way we associate with racist movies. They are like simple children, the pawns of the treasonous John Brown. Yes, abolition of slavery is considered treason in this story, written by Robert Buckner-- a Virginian. The good guys, on the other hand, are clean and reasonable people with combed hair, lots of gleaming teeth, and accompanied by happy action music. Stuart (Flynn) with his West Point pals Custer (Reagan), Hood, Pickett, Longstreet, Sheridan are all military comrades under the wise and watchful eyes of Robert E. Lee and Sec. of War Jefferson Davis. Needless to say, this was aimed at audiences in the Deep South of 1940, the South of Legal Apartheid. Forget Bedtime for Bonzo, this was the movie Reagan really should've been ashamed of. The heroes in here are about as interesting as the flat figures in a Communist propaganda poster. But, there is one scene with them that is sort of good. The soldiers are being told their future by a Native American fortune teller, who informs them they will soon be enemies in a great war. It is the only part of the tale where the "good guys" get to really act. But it is Massey's performance as John Brown the religious fanatic that capures our attention. His execution scene (oddly without John Wilkes Booth or Stonewall Jackson, who were also there) was well played. It would've been fitting to end the story right there, but no, they had to tack on a final bit for a minute or so where Stuart gets married (which actually happened a few years before Brown was captured). So: scene of great significance making you stand back and say, "Whoa Dude! That's like too much pathos!" is quickly followed by a happy wedding scene on a train which in turn is quickly followed by "The End," complete with jaunty showtune type music. A bad ending to a bad movie.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. May 22, 1992 (VHS off-air). Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Doc Severinsen, film clips of: Richard Nixon, Robert Kennedy, Groucho Marx, Tiny Tim, Ed Sullivan, Jay Silverheels, Muhammad Ali, Jack Benny, Racqual Welch, Mel Brooks, Jimmy Stewart, Loni Anderson, Robin Williams, Bette Davis, Billy Crystal, Madonna, Michael Landon, Jane Fonda, George Foreman, David Letterman, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Louie Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Bobbie Gentry, Richard Harris, Errol Garner, Ella Fitzgerald, Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jackson Five, Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Liza Minnelli, Willie Nelson, Crystal Gayle, Roy Orbison, K.D. Laing, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Al Green, B.B. King, Pointer Sisters, George Benson, Manhattan Transfer, Dizzy Gillespie, Anita Baker, Liberace, Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Elton John, Whitney Houston, Crosby Stills & Nash, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Garth Brooks, Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top, John Wayne, Charlton Heston, George Carlin, Henry Fonda, Rick Nelson, Gig Young, Jackie Cooper, George Raft, Milton Berle, George Gobel, Lauren Bacall, Jim Henson, Peter Falk, David Susskind, Sylvester Stallone, Carol Burnett, Alan King, David Brinkley, Betty White, Neil Simon, Bob Uecker, Richard Pryor, Gregory Peck, Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett, Ronald Reagan, Bing Crosby, Orson Welles, Jodie Foster, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Brokaw, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Natalie Wood, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen, Andy Kaufman, Gore Vidal, Freddie Prinze, Sam Kinison, Danny Thomas, Truman Capote, Anthony Quinn, William F. Buckley, Buddy Rich, F. Lee Bailey, Tony Curtis, Eva Gabor, Sid Caesar, Vincent Price, Clint Eastwood, George C. Scott, Red Skelton, Hubert Humphrey, Stevie Wonder, Fred de Cordova. This was Johnny Carson's final appearance after three decades as host of the Tonight Show. There were no special guests, just Johnny presenting a quick-paced film tribute to his guests of the past, plus a short mini-documentary on the prep work behind the show. Nearly all the tapes for the first decade are gone, which is criminal considering what a late night institution this series had become and Carson's iconic status. He seemed to have capitivated a certain generation of Americans, mostly my parents' age, and Letterman and others followed in his wake with fresher material for the younger set. But Carson knew when to stop and retired undefeated. A tad bit maudlin when it came to Ed and Doc, but otherwise not as drenched in gush as it could've been. Celebrity addicts should love this final show. Just the cast list alone should provide enough keywords to give OlyBlog a slight spike in hits!

"Mr. Neutron" (Monty Python's Flying Circus ; v. 21, episode 44) / directed by Ian MacNaughton (1974, VHS). Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Douglas Adams (uncredited). Another Jones/Palin long narrative episode centered on Mr. Neutron, the most dangerous man in the universe. A hilarious showcase for a parade of characters including Mr. Neutron himself (Chapman), Mrs. S.C.U.M. (Jones), an American military commander obsessed with body odor and who will seem disturbingly familiar in his attitude toward terrorism (Palin), the bitter and negative Mr. Entrail (Jones), and super spy Teddy Salad (played by a dog). When the last named character appeared on the screen I was actually eating a salad. There are no coincidences. Gilliam's animations are more a coherent part of the story than usual. Look for the writer Douglas Adams in a guest cameo supposedly in drag as a Pepperpot. On the writing of this episode, Graham Chapman has been quoted as saying, "Bits and pieces were snipped and added by the rest, but that was predominantly Mike and Terry. There was a great relief when they read off this enormously long sketch. We thought, 'Well, that's next week done! Jolly good-- we can get off early this afternoon.'"

Presumed Innocent / directed by Alan J. Pakula (1990, VHS). Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield, Greta Scacchi, John Spencer. Hmm, strange that this film is the next one to randomly come up in my list right after I go to jury selection. Actually, attending the jury thing at the county courthouse over in Montesano was more interesting than this movie, and I didn't even get picked for duty! Innocent man who happens to be an urban prosecutor is charged with the homicide of his former lover-- but they've got the wrong man, blah, blah, blah. And as the hero struggles to prove he is innocent, the walls of his compartmentalized life begin to crumble. Original? This has the feel of a melodramatic made for TV mystery. It even seems slow when I use the fast forward button. Harrison Ford, who I normally admire as an actor, goes through his vast catalog of wounded and hurt expressions. If he isn't emoting wounded or hurt, then he gives us this sort of half-smile smirk which, no fault of his, we have since associated with George W. Bush. This is not a compliment to Ford and now I'll have to try real hard to ignore it in his other work. Raul Julia as the defense attorney saves this film from being a total waste. Until he walks into the screen, the audience is left out in the cold, distant and unconnected from the mystery. Julia provides us with a human connection, inviting the viewer not to give up on this dog just yet. Paul Winfield as the Judge is the only other character with any human spark. Most of Ford's films are worth seeing. But this is not one of them.