15 GREAT CINEMA

OF HUMAN BONDAGE(1934):

Wow! This definitely has it's ups and downs, with Bette
Davis and Leslie Howard both doing an excellent job in
their roles! Even though it becomes obvious how this
will turn out in the end, it still captivates you and
compels you to keep watching! B

A review from Amazon.com:

Just a really solid version of this tale where you can root
for, root against, get mad, get happy, get frustrated, but
most of all, get into all of the main characters
involved. - Joe A. Garcia

LITTLE MEN(1940):

Having not read the book, I thought this was a
pretty good movie!! Quite a bit of humor, along
with some slight drama, this moves along pretty
quickly! B-

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

Louisa May Alcott would roll over in her grave
were she to see the mish-mosh made of her book
of the same name. This black and white film is
simply a poor excuse of an adaptation, as it bears
little resemblance to the book. Consequently, it
falls far short of success.

Though the film has some good actors in it, with
Kay Smith most successful in reprising the role of Jo,
the actors simply cannot overcome the third rate
script with which they have to work. Quite frankly,
I could not wait for the film to end and breathed
a sigh of relief when it was finally over. - Lawyeraau

THE JUNGLE BOOK(1942):

This is a very old movie(1942), and while it's age
definitely shows(this was copied from a vcr tape!!)
it still is quite good even by todays standards! The
interaction between Mowgli and the animals is pretty
amazing camera work! The story, while at the beginning
is a little slow, picks up speed and never stops!! It
makes you wonder why there was never a sequel! B

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

Wow, was this movie exciting! The famous story
was well designed for screen and the action was
riveting! The old special effects are great! Very
exciting, and you feel like you are viewing a
masterpiece like Gone With The Wind. Sounds
of speaking are a bit fuzzy to understand, but it
eventually flowed into my ears better. The animal
training is amazing. I will enjoy viewing this over
and over. - V. Simmons "Customer Since 2007"
(A note here: V. Simmons is from Salem!)

ANNA KARENINA(1948):

This is pretty boring really, but still well acted by all!
About a woman(Leigh) who gets tired of her hum-drum
high falootin' life style and decides to take on a lover,
this all in a time when such offences were worthy of
death! C+

Russia and Lyudmila Overture!!

A review from Amazon.com:

Vivien Leigh is a "Scarlett" woman as tragic heroine Anna
Karenina, unhappily married to "colossal bore" Alexei
(Ralph Richardson), who neglects her to attend to affairs
of state. When Anna meets the dashing Count Vronsky
(Kieron Moore), she begins an affair of her own that
scandalizes St. Petersburg and leads to her ostracization
from high-society circles and, in a heartbreaking scene,
her beloved son. Pepe Le Moko director Julien Duvivier's
1948 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's oft-filmed book has
stretches that make the film seem as long and cold as a
Russian winter night, but the ravishing Leigh as the doomed
Anna keeps the fires burning. The "thoughtless and selfish"
Anna is a distant relation of the willfull Ms. O'Hara from
Gone with the Wind, although her ultimate comeuppance
leaves no hope for "another day." This is a high-minded
prestige production (Tolstoy gets his name above the
title), but it offers the more simple, old fashioned pleasures
of a Hollywood melodrama. --Donald Liebenson

CYRANO DEBERGERAC(1950):

This is surprisingly very good!!! Even for a movie made
so many years ago, it gets your attention almost immediately
and continues to entertain!! Jose Ferrer makes a believable
Cyrano, and the entire cast works well together! B+

A review from an Amazon.com Customer:

One of the best classic movies ever. I find it difficult
to see such fine acting by any actor today. Jose Ferrer
made Cyrano his own and no one has come close to
his performance in this role since. His eloquent line
delivery is unmatched in any other film characterization
I can recall. This film is one of my favorites, in spite of
being released in 1950. A well deserved Oscar
performance. - Amorette L. Capparelli

STUDIO ONE: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT(1952):

Quite obviously a tv presentation(Studio One) this is
a presentation of the classic by Samuel Clemens(Mark
Twain!)! Not terrible, but certainly not the greatest
production of this book! C+

A review from Amazon:

A young Frank Schaffner teamed up with the TV writer
Alan Saplinsey to compress Mark Twain's classic farce
into a fast-paced, over-reaching TV movie. The film is
primarily interesting because it unintentionally captures
the feeling of live TV and is a great example of a typical
TV teleplay. It's not quite a TV movie, bur more of a 'bare
essentials' presentation, with a script that bears a striking
resemblance to a radio-play.

The Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain's real name) story
transports a modern man from New England back a
millennium and a half into the time of Arthur and
Camelot. Culture-shock is just the tip of the ice burg.
Often-copied and adapted, Connecticut Yankee is a classic
19th century farce.

Tom Mitchell's fast-talking performance feels like a dress
rehearsal, and the cinematography and sets appear halfway
thought-out and half-built. Overall - the production focuses
on distilling the essence of the well-known Twain classic,
not elaborating on it, or interpreting it. Some of the humor
comes through, but little of the wisdom and real comedy.
Given the budgetary and logistical constraints presentations
such as this were produced with, it's passable, but not worth
going out of your way to see.

Boris Karloff, Loretta Daye, Salem Ludwig and the rest of
the supporting cast are quite enjoyable. Mitchell's lead
performance lacks lustre and feels a little over-bearing
at times.

Recommended for those interested in TV history, and
Karloff fans. - mstomaso

THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO(1952):

Not sure what the "snows" have to do with this, as
they never show any snow! This is a very good movie,
albeit quite slow in spots, but they are all intragel to
the story line! About a guy who has been injured in
Africa(in the shadows of Kilimanjaro) and he is re-living
his past and how he's gotten to the point that we see
him at first in the movie. Well acted, just pretty dark! B-

A review from Amazon.com:

I loved The Snows Of Kilimanjaro when it first came
out. That was a long time ago. Seeing it now that I'm
much older, I still loved it. The story is very compelling
and unforgettable. The main actors were big time when
this was made and the movie shows you how they made
their names. The scenery is something to remember and
worth the movie alone. The female stars are Ava Gardner
and Susan Hayward. - By A Customer

PLYMOUTH PLAYHOUSE: A TALE OF TWO CITIES(1953):

This is both episodes of the A Tale Of Two Cities, shown
on tvs Plymouth Playhouse! A pretty entertaining show,
though the sound quality isn't great! But the acting is
superb, and for a live show, very few mistakes are made!
A pretty good adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic! B

A review from an IMDB.com customer:

The Plymouth Playhouse that aired on ABC (May 3, 1953)
was Part 1 of "The Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens.
This episode 4 of "ABC Album" was the London story - 1780.
It was a 30 minute dramatization made for early TV. For its
time, it was o.k., but the second part that was aired the
following week was much better.

Wendell Corey played the role of Sydney Carton. Wanda
Hendrix, who had been married to Audie Murphy (the WW
II hero)in 1949, played the role of Lucie Manette. Her
father, Dr. Manette, was played by Murray Matheson.
It was the role of Pross, played by Esther Dale, that I liked
the best. I remember her role in "The Awful Truth" (1937)
as Ralph Bellamy's prude mother from Oklahoma. Carleton
Young played the role as Charles Darnay.

I was lucky to have this presentation on DVD. It came in
a 50 Movie Pack box set entitled : Historic Classics. Vintage
Plymouth car commercials are also included. - By chasmilt777r

CLIMAX!: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN(1953)

This is rather cute. Certainly not a Gone With The Wind
caliber of a movie, but still enjoyable! John Carradine
does a great job in his role, as always! Not incredibly true
to the story, but for a TV movie, not bad! B-

A review from an IMDB.com customer:

This is an insanely made TV version of "Huckleberry Finn".
I say this because one of the most important characters
from the book is completely omitted and THE main point
of the novel is completely missing!! This is because back in
1955 the country was very divided racially and some idiots
thought that the way to appease the bigots out there was
to omit the runaway slave, Jim, from the story! I am pretty
sure Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) would NOT have been
pleased and he probably was spinning like a rotisserie in
his grave because of this! Because of this, no matter how
good the rest of the story is, it's only a pale imitation of
the original and they should have been ashamed of themselves
for making the story this way. So what are we left with?
Well, many of the characters are here but, oddly, Injun
Joe is apparently a zombie, as he died in "Tom Sawyer"
(a book set BEFORE "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"!
My advice? See another version or read the book. I like
that this book is a rare example of a book that has been
both banned by ultra-conservatives and do-gooder liberals
--which is a great reason to read it. - planktonrules

THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS(1954):

This has some very fine actors/actresses in it, Walter
Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Donna Reed, Eva Gabor,
Roger Moore and Elizabeth Taylor! All of these
put in a very good performance in this drama
about an aspiring writer who just doesn't seem
to catch a break, except when it comes to his
wife and daughter! Not overly gripping, yet still
very watchable! C+

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

What a wonderful movie. Elizabeth Taylor is
captivating in one on her many fine performances
in "The Last Time I Saw Paris". Van Johnson gives
a compelling and very believable performance as
a frustrated writer flirting with Alcoholism and
disaster in his marriage. We have a young and
very handsome Roger Moore playing a tennis
bum wooing the unhappy Taylor. Donna Reed,
Eva Gabor and Walter Pidgeon also give this film
their best. Melodramatic to say the least, but not
to be missed. CAL

MACBETH(1961):

Done as a play, this stars one of the greatest actors of all
time, Sean Connery, before he was Bond, James Bond!!
The unfortunate part of this is that the sound and video
is very poor! If you don't like plays, this will not be
something that you will enjoy! But still it's Bond, uh, Sean! C+

A review from Amazon.com customer:

Although it's fun to see a young Sean Connery, and it's a
shorter version of Macbeth, the odd costumes, interminable
internal monologues, and dreary staging make this painful
to watch. - Virginia Schollenberger

DAVID COPPERFIELD(1970):

While this is probably a decent version of the great
book, it fails in the attempt to engross!! This is too
bad, as, like I said, it's probably a decent adaptation.
I, however, found it quite convoluted and hard to
follow! C-

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

This is a made for TV movie version that is pretty
good. Great British cast, and they bring the book
to life. There are some slow moving spots, but it
is true to the original story. If you are a high school
literature teacher, it would be useful for class
discussion after reading the book. The cinematography
is not as good as it would be with modern technology.
Some of the poor lighting is intentional as to replicate
the lighting of the time period. It would be nice to
see it remastered. - D. Hayes

JANE EYRE(1971):

This is really boring!!! D+(the scenery raises it slightly!)

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

This movie really affected me when I first saw it
on TV in the early 70's. In fact, the final scene was
imprinted on my brain and I always thought it was
one of the most movingly romantic scenes ever.
When I found this DVD was available, I was SO
excited!! At less than $6.00 it was a steal. Unfortunately,
as with most young infatuations, time and maturity
kind of dulled this one. I still love George C Scott
as Edward, but Jane - although described as 'plain',
is anything but. And the final scene? Darn. The one in
my memory was better. Still, if you are a Jane Eyre
fan, this should be in your collection. - sooziekayh

THE CALL OF THE WILD(1972):

This movie really skips around a lot!! A decent enough story
but not enough to be riveting! When the best actor is a dog,
you know that this is not the greatest movie ever made! C-

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

A Teacher's Point of view: This a great video that follows
the original book fairly closely. It does leave out some key
scenes but it does not change the book. The scenes left out
however are the main ones that cover the theme of the book
with Buck learning what the Call of the Wild is and how it
affects him. I do highly recommend the movie as it is close
to the book. - a customer

LEGAND OF SEA WOLF(1975):

Chuck Conners as a bad guy! Hmmmm, rather hard to
swallow! And the movie itself is very jumpy! It skips
around a lot and sometimes doesn't make sense! But
the story is interesting and worth ONE watch! C

A review from an IMDB.com customer:

Legend of the Seawolf - Digitally Remastered
(Amazon.com Exclusive)A story of a man possessed
by the power of life and death over the men under
his command. Chuck Connors portrays Captain Wolf
Larson in this high seas adventure about a man possessed
with the power he holds over his crew and a fear of a
man's legend. Also stars Barbara Back and Joseph
Palmer. Directed by Joseph Green. - Anonymous

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