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railspike
Reviews
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Mindless fluff
I waited 82 years to see HCMJ with an Oscar-winning screenplay, but I was sorely disappointed. Supposedly based on a popular '30s stage play, this movie version might have wowed audiences as clever and funny in the early '40s, but now it comes off as not only laugh-free, but also dated and silly. And that's from someone who loves comedies from the '30s.
The main problem I had with HCMJ is that I just couldn't suspend disbelief when it was revealed early on that Joe P. Wasn't supposed to go to heaven because as the pilot he not only actually survived his plane crashing nose first into the ground at full speed, but was destined to live another fifty years. The rest of the movie tried to invoke sympathy for various characters and show a romance blossoming, but to me it was all a boring snooze. I probably would have liked the movie more had Joe P.'s annoying, lucky saxophone been destroyed and swapped for a kazoo, and had Columbia's own Three Stooges been shoehorned into the plot for some yucks.
Overall, the best thing about HCMJ is Claude Rains, though he has little to do, and I can in no way recommend a viewing of this golden age fantasy comedy.
Roman Holiday (1953)
Way Overrated
As a big fan of the stars, the director, and the writer, Dalton Trumbo, with a chance to see Rome as it looked in the early fifties, I finally watched the film after seventy years. The verdict: really, really disappointed with this ballyhooed awards winner. First off, the movie was supposed to be a romantic comedy or satire but it came off to me as neither funny nor romantic but contrived, phony, and boring from beginning to end: virtually nothing of note occurred in the first hour! Second, none of the main characters came off to me as real persons I or any adult would ever meet in life or recognize outside the pages of a novel. Come on, Eddie Albert as a pre-beatnik photographer?
So, unless you must see all of Wyler's and/or the late stars' films, you will miss nothing by skipping this one, as all who had a hand in it have been involved in far, far better pictures.
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Strictly WW II romantic fantasy
I rate it six and one-half stars. This film-for-its-time is well written, directed and acted, but I found the proceedings all too predictable, lacking plot twists, shocks and surprises at the same time that death and the deceased are given the light treatment. The drama-free plot unfolded all too quickly for me, e.g., the instant love and romance part, while leaving the destructive effects of the war, both physical and mental, glossed over or missing. The subtext of the movie about U. S. - U. K. relations is dated too, while the movie on the whole does give off a feel-good vibe, especially considering the ending. Overall, too syrupy a movie for me, though die-hard romantics may enjoy a viewing.
Woman Obsessed (1959)
Not quite there
While the movie was competently directed and acted, Miss Hayward was wonderful as always and SB intense, the script lacked one additional real time tragedy or the like to deliver it to the next level. As an edgy family drama, there was the early accidental death of a minor character and the later miscarriage, with several near death experiences and revelations about the past, but the second half of the movie needed something more, along with an alteration of the abrupt happy ending. That said, I can still definitely recommend a viewing of the film for fans of SH, SB and director HH.
Deadfall (1968)
okay for its type
This 60s film features two fairly interesting male stars, MC & EP, whose shared scenes are its strongest feature, while the two females featured are lovely but don't perform anything memorable. That said, after the first heist the movie bogs down and becomes overly talky, monotonous and needing additional editing to shorten the running time. Overall, this shot-on-location film has some worthy directorial touches and isn't a waste of viewing time, especially for MC and EP completists.