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Reviews
The Beverly Hillbillies: The Party Line (1966)
Everybody hates the phone company!
Satire of the phone company on one level; silly fun humor on another level. Granny claims to have spent hours at her home in the hills listening in on her party line phone. But if you watch the series' first few episodes in season one, neither the Clampetts nor anyone else had a telephone - the nearest one was 40 miles away! Despite this plot flaw, apparently the Beverly Hills phone company does not have party lines anymore. Drysdale tries to berate and intimidate the phone people - with predictable results. A classic episode illustrating the conflicts between the Clampetts and the world of Beverly Hills.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Scary, violent film with major plot flaws
This is a bloody crime film compromised by major plot flaws. The acting is superb. Bardem is positively chilling as the psychopath. But why did Moss return to the scene of the shoot-out? He would have gotten quietly away with the money had he not returned to the scene where he was forced to leave his car there. The tracking device in the briefcase would have been out of range of Chigurh; and Moss should have searched the briefcase and transferred the money elsewhere early on. And why are the victims so meek when faced with certain death? In the real world Wells would not have quietly escorted Chigurh up the stairs to his hotel room to certain death. He could have pushed him, run through the lobby, and screamed for help. The accountant in the office, after Chigurh has murdered the boss, just stands there. In the real world he would have run like hell and screamed for the police. Chigurh would never have gotten out of that building. And Moss' wife would have run when she saw Chigurh sitting in her living room. Chigurh in the real world would have been apprehended many times. Even the street shootout between Chigurh and Moss attracts no police or even bystanders who would have sounded the alarm. These major flaws make the whole story seem contrived and phony. Was it violence for violence's sake? It must have been a down year for movies for this violent crime drama to win the Best Picture Award. After Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, the pride of the Harvard football team when I knew him, steals the show as the older sheriff who cannot understand the violence and murders in today's world. Most of the killings are bad guys murdering bad guys, like the oldtime Mafia wars. That is partly a good thing. But when Moss and his wife get targeted, the tone changes. Moss could have gotten away with the money had he been smarter. His wife was the only true innocent victim.
The Big Sleep (1946)
Complex Plot Simplified
To understand the plot, just focus on these facts:
There are two separate blackmail schemes. First, Geiger/Brody were blackmailing the sisters over Carmen's racy photos. Second, Mars was blackmailing Vivian by claiming that her sister Carmen had killed Regan (In fact Mars had killed Regan and had Mars' wife Mona hide away pretending to have run off with Regan).
There are seven killings in the film: Regan was killed by Mars; Geiger was killed by by the driver Taylor; driver Taylor was killed by Brody; Brody was killed by Lundgren; Jones was killed by Canino; Canino was killed by Marlowe in self-defense; and Mars was killed by his own men accidentally.
Next time you watch the film use this as a checklist!
Dangerous Crossing (1953)
Enjoy this drama; ignore the impossible plot!
The plot implications are never explained. Apparently the ship's Third Mate schemed with a deceased rich man's relative to marry her and then kill her, for the inheritance.
He must have wooed her, got her to agree to marry him, married her at some random Chapel in Maryland, booked a honeymoon cruise on his ship in her name only, quietly boarded the ship with her without being noticed, induced a stewardess to help with the murder plot, faked an illness to be confined to his quarters, and then began an elaborate ruse to make everyone think she was crazy, which would attribute her murder to a suicide!
So three people were in on the murder plot.
He was already married to a beautiful heiress. Why do all this?
Columbo: Lady in Waiting (1971)
Where is the blood?
She plugs the man with three shots at close range, killing him instantly. But when she drags the body toward the door, there is no blood whatever. In the real world there would be pulsing blood and a horrible trail of blood showing that she had move the body. This ruined the whole show for me. And she was an amateurish killer - leaving other obvious clues. Columbo has cracked tougher cases.
Columbo: Last Salute to the Commodore (1976)
Ending is ridiculous!
At the end, Columbo claims he has identified the killer based on Columbo's hearing the suspect's whispered pronunciation of a common English contraction. This is ludicrous, and would never stand up in court. I'd like to be the defense lawyer who gets to cross-examine Columbo at the accused's trial.
Backfire (1950)
First rate noir deserves several viewings.
Wounded war veteran Bob Corey is released from the hospital and seeks to find his missing GI friend and would-be partner in developing an Arizona ranch. The search leads hims to five murders before he locates his friend - Steve Conolly, who is involved in the gambling rackets.
This film grows on you. I watched it four times before I could sort out the chronology - which is related through seven rather lengthy flashbacks. To keep track, realize that two of the murders and much of the plot action takes place before Bob was even released from the hospital. During his search for Conolly, three more killings occur. The murders are all related, of course. And unlike today's graphic screen violence, when victims are shot at close range in this film, they just fall down - no blood and no force impact from the bullets. Ed Begley steals the show as the police detective, and Virginia Mayo stars as the good nurse. This film has become one of the classic film noirs.
Columbo: Dead Weight (1971)
Where is the blood all over the General's living room - he just shot and killed a man there?
Let's see: The General shot and killed a man at close range in his living room. A fatal wound like that would result in massive blood staining the floor at least. And the bullet would make a mark in the wall probably. But an hour later Columbo finds nothing. Not one drop of blood. No sign of any shooting. Based on my experience at crime scenes, this is impossible to believe. A very bad Columbo episode.
Lady in the Lake (1946)
Fun experimental noir with huge plot holes
SPOILER ALERT: It is never explained WHY Mildred Haveland killed first the doctor's wife, then Crystal Kingsby, and then Chris Lavery. Was she psychotic?
What happened to the murder prosecution of the innocent Mr. Chess?
Like many noirs, if you just relax and enjoy the film, and overlook plot flaws, you can enjoy this. The 'first-person' camera trick always fascinated me. Why can't this be done better now with today's filming technology?