Classic Movie Reviews

“The Blues Brothers” 1980 is packed with music and lots of law enforcement car chases.  Then add in “Joliet” Jake and Elwood on “a mission from God” to save the orphanage, plus attacks on Jake’s life by a mysterious woman left waiting at the altar, pursuit by the angry country western band, and attacks by a neo-Nazi party. What did I forget?  Director John Landis herds these events into a crazy-quilt of music and mayhem.John Belushi is Jake Blues and Dan Aykroyd is blood brother Elwood.  The large cast includes Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Candy, Ray Charles, Twiggy, Steve Lawrence, Frank Oz, Henry Gibson, Steven Spielberg in the Assessor’s office, Ralph Foody as Police Dispatcher, and a long list of other talented folks.  Hang on!

“Only Angels Have Wings” 1939 takes place in the fictional South American town of Barranca. There is danger, romance, and drama surrounding Barranca Airways a struggling business with fatalistic pilots, money worries, unpredictable weather, few planes, and difficult human relationships.  Director Howard Hawks creates excitement much as he did with “Red River” 1948 (Episode 71), “The Thing from Another World’ 1951 (Episode 59), and many other excellent films.The cast includes Cary Grant as Geoff Carter the Manager and lead pilot, Jean Arthur as Bonnie Lee the piano player-entertainer, Richard Barthelmess is Bat MacPherson a hated pilot who redeems himself, Judy MacPherson played by Rita Hayworth in her first major role, Thomas Mitchell as “Kid” Dabb best friend of Carter, and many others.  Fasten seat belts for this movie.Here’s the IMDB page for “Only Angels Have Wing”Watch the full movie for free on YouTube here.And listen to the Lux Radio adaptation here on YouTube.

“Bicycle Thieves” also known as “Bicycle Thief” 1948 is an Italian drama that presents a Rome family struggling with unemployment, poverty, and the aftermath of World War II.  Director Vittorio De Sica captures this subsistence life with exceptional use of black and white cinematography, melancholy music, on location street scenes, untrained actors, and devastating events.  The movie won an Academy Award (Special Award) as did Mr. De Sica’s 1946 film “Shoeshine”.Lamberto Maggiorani plays Antonio Ricci who is hired to hang outdoor wall posters in an assigned area, and he must have a bicycle for the work.  Antonio’s supportive and strong-willed wife Maria is played by Lianella Carell.  Enzo Staiola is masterful as Bruno, Antonio’s 8-year-old son.  The large supportive cast enhances this drama of everyday life.  This film is unforgettable.

Our podcast covers time travel movies.“Time After Time” 1979 from Director Nicholas Meyer transports us to H.G. Wells and his search for Doctor John Leslie Stevenson known as Jack-the-Ripper. Malcolm McDowell is H.G. Wells, Mary Steenburgen plays Amy Robbins who assists Wells, with Jack-the-Ripper played by David Warner.“Somewhere in Time” 1980 by Director Jeannot Szwarc is the timeless love story between Elise Mckenna and Richard Collier. It unfolds at the Grand Hotel on beautiful Mackinac Island, Michigan.  Christopher Reeve plays Richard Collier, Jane Seymour is Elise McKenna, and Christopher Plummer plays William Fawcett Robinson Ms. McKenna’s manager and Mr. Collier’s nemesis. “Somewhere in Time” has unforgettable music composed by John Barry with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for added beauty.Enjoy!Here's the IMDB page for Time After Time Here's the IMDB page for Somewhere In Time Here's a YouTube playlist of 10 memorable scenes from Time After Time 

“Sextette” 1978 is Mae West’s last film and showcases her talents and one liners. The movie is a wedding day mash-up of oddball characters, funny situations, antics of ex-husbands, an international peace conference, musical numbers, and a potpourri of stars. Director Ken Hughes created this big budget smorgasbord that sank at the box office.Mae West is Marlo Manners/Lady Barrington the new bride of sixth husband Sir Michael Barrington played by Timothy Dalton. Sir Michael is also a secret agent. Dom DeLuise plays Dan Turner trying to hold everything together while also performing a search and dancing. The ex-husbands include Tony Curtis as Alexi Andreyev Karansky, Ringo Starr as Laslo Karony, and George Hamilton as Vance Norton. The cast includes Alice Cooper as Alice Cooper/Waiter and many cameo appearances. What a film!You can watch Sextette on YouTube here (at least as of this posting).https://youtu.be/swS-9j3BuAE  

We incorrectly said Robert Wise never directed a western.  Mr. Wise directed these westerns - “Two Flags West” 1950, “Tribute to a Bad Man” 1956, and “Blood on the Moon” 1948.  We apologize for our oversight.  The creativity of Mr. Wise is seen throughout “Blood on the Moon”.Robert Mitchum as Jim Garry rides into a conflict involving Robert Preston as Tate Riling who has a scheme to profit from a cattle swindle effecting John Lufton played by Tom Tully, reservation food prices, and U.S. Government purchasing costs. Aiding Riling is corrupt Government Agent Jake Pindalest played by Frank Faylen.  Lufton’s two daughters Amy and Carol played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Phyllis Thaxter disagree over the motives of Riling and Garry.  Walther Brennan as Kris Barden is excellent.

“The Lion” 1962 is a family/adventure film set on an animal preserve in Kenya. Director Jack Cardiff relies on excellent movie making skills to fill the screen with beautiful scenes of Africa and wildlife. Mr. Cardiff‘s experience includes Cinematographer for films such as “Black Narcissus” 1947 (Episode 98) and “The African Queen” 1951.William Holden is Robert Hayward a Lawyer who travels to Africa at the request of his former wife to help face the challenges of their eleven-year-old daughter and her attachment to King a lion played by Zamba. Capucine plays ex-wife Christine and Pamela Franklin is their daughter Tina. Trevor Howard plays John Bullit the grizzled manager of the game preserve and relatively new husband of Christine. Bullit deeply loves Africa and the movie captures that and much more.

“Mogambo” 1953 is a romance-adventure film set in Africa. Thank you to Patreon listener Arthur who recommended we include the movie in a podcast. Director John Ford built the film around African locations and music from African tribes. The film has many elements found in the 1932 movie “Red Dust”.Clark Gable is Victor Marswell the experienced guide who leads the safari to ultimately observe Gorillas in their natural setting. The safari group includes Grace Kelly as Linda Nordley who falls in love with Marswell, Donald Nordley the husband of Linda played by Donald Sinden, Ava Gardner as Eloise Kelly who also loves Marswell, and a large supporting cast. Mr. Gable also played the lead in the “Red Dust” film. Enjoy this adventure drawn from an earlier time.

“The Fog” 1980 is a horror-drama set in the California coastal town of Antonio Bay.  Director John Carpenter co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for this exciting story.  A luminous, eerie fog rolls into town bringing with it the ghosts from 100 years ago seeking revenge for their brutal murder and theft of their gold.Adrienne Barbeau is Stevie Wayne the radio host who early on deals with the fog, Ty Mitchell plays Stevie’s son Andy, Jamie Lee Curtis is Elizabeth Solley a hitchhiker swept up in events that also engulf her friend Nick Castle played by Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh plays Kathy Williams who is nervously coordinating the town’s 100-year anniversary, and Father Patrick Malone, at the core of this vengeful tale, is played by Hal Holbrook.  Happy Halloween?Here’s the IMDB page for “The Fog”Up next is “Magambo”Support us over on Patreon!

“Cry, the Beloved Country” 1951 is based on Alan Paton’s 1948 novel depicting several aspects of Apartheid in South Africa. Director Zoltan Korda persevered to make this film with intertwined stories of race relations, poverty, beliefs of diverse people, murder, a trial, status quo, yet a glimmer of hope. The movie, made in South Africa over 70 years ago, is a testament to strength and commitment.Canada Lee plays Stephen Kumalo the black minister searching for his son and other family members lost in the depths of Johannesburg, Charles Carson is James Jarvis and Joyce Carey is Mrs. Jarvis the white farm couple whose son is murdered during a robbery, Sidney Poitier plays Reverend Msimangu assisting Mr. Kumalo in his quest. This exceptional movie is timely in today’s world!Here’s the IMDB page for “Cry, the Beloved Country”Up next is “The Fog”Support us over on Patreon!