[6] Katharine Hepburn stars in this odd duck of a movie about an eccentric Countess who catches wind of a conspiracy to destroy Paris in the name of oil drilling and decides to take matters into her own hands… by killing all the men involved. Director Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives) is completely aware of the story’s intrinsic absurdity, executing key moments with touches of whimsy …
[7] Paul Newman reunites with director Martin Ritt (Hud, The Long Hot Summer) for this ensemble Western based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. It’s an Eastwoodesque performance from Newman, playing a reticent loner raised by Apaches who ends up having to protect a stagecoach crew that initially thumb their noses at him. I don’t think the ending was particularly well executed, but the characters …
[5] Shirley MacLaine plays a jinxed woman whose four husbands meet tragic ends in this satirical comedy about money and passion. There are a lot of great moments in What a Way to Go, but the sum isn’t greater than the parts. The disjointed narrative is made nearly tolerable by screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also brought together the fractured tales of Singin’ …
[4] An expedition team discovers the body of an ancient Egyptian prince, but when they bring it back to England, a mummy starts picking then off one by one. This Hammer horror sequel gets off to a shaky start with ten minutes of clunky narration and then falls into a tediously predictable revenge plot. Budgetary constraints, which Hammer normally overcomes with ingenuity and resourcefulness, get the …
[3] Director William Castle, better known for gimmicky horror flicks like The Tingler, tries his hand at a straight-forward thriller. The story centers around three girls who make a night of prank calling people and telling them, “I know who you are and I saw what you did.” Unfortunately, one of their targets is a paranoid murderer (John Ireland) who takes their joke a little …
[7] Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in this influential, genre-bending Western about two outlaws who hole up in Bolivia to hide from a pursuing ‘superposse.’ William Goldman’s celebrated screenplay would become the progenitor of countless buddy films for decades to come. Paul Newman has referred to the film as “a love story between two men.” What’s remarkable is that the camaraderie between the two …
[3] American International takes a break from Edgar Allen Poe pictures to slam two Jules Verne books together for a movie called Master of the World (based on the book of the same title and Robur, the Conqueror). Vincent Price headlines as a Captain Nemo-like character who flies around the world in his magnficent flying machine destroying all the world’s armies in a sort of …
[3] A doctor working on a cancer cure in the Caribbean discovers a snake venom that turns his patients into zombies. Beneath the Lewtonesque title is a gitchy rip-off of James Bond meets the Scooby Doo Mysteries. It’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. The script moves remarkably well on its fumes of inspiration, the soundtrack is groovy, and some of the …
[7] After success with House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and Tales of Terror, Roger Corman further exploited Edgar Allan Poe’s name with The Raven. But this time, the film bears little resemblance to Poe’s story. Instead, legendary sci-fi scribe Richard Matheson wrote a fairly engaging comedic tale about three dueling wizards. Vincent Price plays the first wizard, mourning over the death of his …
[7] Sidney Poitier plays a black Northern detective who reluctantly aides a white Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) in solving a murder case. The mystery itself is a bit thin, but it’s bolstered by good performances from the leads and a commendable handling of volatile subject matter. (Though the film takes place in Mississippi, the film’s crew decided to shoot no further south than Tennessee for …
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