Otto Preminger

The Hobbit (1977)

[7] This American/Japanese animated venture would be the first feature-length movie journey into J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Produced by Rankin/Bass (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Last Unicorn) and animated by the studio that would later become Studio Ghibli, The Hobbit is a brisk 77-minute adaptation that features many folksy songs and a notable voice cast led by John Huston as Gandalf. While it may be …

Advise and Consent (1962)

[7] In this political drama from director Otto Preminger, Henry Fonda plays the president’s newly appointed Secretary of State, but before he can take the position he must pass the Senate’s nasty accusations of communism and homosexuality. Advise and Consent starts out very plot-driven and a little dry, unless you’re really interested in senate politics. But by the mid-point, I had invested in the ensemble …

Exodus (1960)

[4] Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, and Sal Mineo put their lives on the line to lead hundreds of Jewish refugees into Palestine during the wake of WWII in Otto Preminger’s Exodus. The film has its moments, but for subject matter so ripe with dramatic potential, it’s in desperate need of a solid narrative through-line and more compelling leading characters. Newman is playing a stoic …