[7] In one of his better westerns, Errol Flynn leads a ragtag team of Confederate soldiers west to do Robert E. Lee’s bidding. Along the way, he rescues a damsel in distress from marauding Indians, only to learn she’s betrothed to a Union officer whose troops are on the lookout for her. Think Lifeboat on a mountainside. I enjoyed the relationships between the Union and …
[6] A secret civilization is dying of a mysterious disease, so they start kidnapping women to repopulate! Lex Barker swings into action in his second outing as Tarzan, determined to rescue Jane (Vanessa Brown) and a lustful, headstrong nurse (Denise Darcel) from the kidnappers. Cheeta the Chimp’s antics are thankfully kept to a minimum (though he does get drunk in a scene) and Darcel’s performance …
[5] Lex Barker’s third outing in the loincloth has him caught up with gunrunners, warring tribes, and even a man-eating jungle plant. The script is more scatter-shot than usual, but Barker seems more comfortable in the role than before, playing Tarzan as less brutish and more talkative (though still a stranger to most pronouns and articles). Virginia Huston makes a terrible Jane — you don’t …
[5] Tarzan is tricked into guiding smugglers to a village of dangerous natives who guard a secret stash of diamonds in Tarzan’s Savage Fury. Lex Barker’s penultimate swing in the loincloth is the first to dabble with the Greystoke lineage and the second to feature Boy (Tommy Carlton), though this incarnation of Boy is not a blood relative to Tarzan or Jane (Dorothy Hart). I …
[6] Paul Newman headlines this Robert Wise biopic about real-life boxing champ Rocky Graziano. Ernest Lehman’s smart, well-paced script sees Rocky through several youthful indiscretions that threaten to ruin him just as the lightweight championship comes within reach. Though he had appeared in one other film prior, this is the movie that launched Paul Newman to stardom, and it’s no wonder why — he’s magnetic. …
[5] Marlon Brando is terrific as Marc Antony in the centerpiece scene, rallying Rome to condemn Caesar’s assassins. The supporting cast, sets, Miklos Rozsa’s score, and the cast of thousands are impressive. But I’ll be damned if this movie didn’t have me fighting off sleep on more than one occasion. Maybe I need to see it again later, or maybe James Mason’s voice just puts …
[6] Errol Flynn stars as a deep sea diver hunting for a rumored sunken treasure while fending off a trio of baddies that are trying to swipe it out from under him. Flynn is a little past his prime here, and the early fight scene with Richard Webb may be one of the worst-staged in movie history, but Maru Maru is still a fun little …
[5] Lex Barker ends his five-film tenure as Tarzan with a bit of a whimper in Tarzan and the She-Devil. The plot focuses around ivory poachers, lead by Raymond Burr and icy-cool Monique van Vooren, who enslave a peaceful native tribe to do all their grunt work. This installment had the potential for the greatest emotional impact, with Tarzan’s tree-top home burnt to the ground …
[6] Henry Fonda is caught between a beleaguered WWII cargo crew and their vindictive captain in this oddly cheerful, lightweight drama directed by John Ford and Mervyn Leroy. James Cagney hams it up as the nutcase captain while William Powell makes a graceful big screen exit as the ship’s doctor. Jack Lemmon won the first of his two Oscars for his supporting role as an …
[6] On one hand, Arthur Penn’s take on Billy the Kid isn’t as whitewashed as other tellings. On the other hand, why should we care that some hot-headed simpleton ran out and got himself shot? Despite an admirable effort from Paul Newman, I couldn’t quite invest in the character as much as I’d have liked, but the movie still moves at a brisk pace and …
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