Cash McCall (1960)

On the surface it doesn't seem that Cash McCall has very much to offer, but it really is a fairly charming little picture. James Garner plays the title character, a very rich businessman who buys up companies, whips them into shape, then turns around and sells them for a profit. Dean Jagger is Grant Austen, owner of Austen Plastics. Grant is getting older, and has decided to sell his company. He thinks it over, discusses it with his consultant Gil Clark (Henry Jones) as well as his daughter Lory (Natalie Wood). Gil tells him that he might have a buyer, and thinks he can get two million for the company. The buyer turns out to be none other than Cash McCall.

Austen and McCall set up a meeting, and Grant asks Lory to come along since she owns 10% of the company. It is now that we learn that Cash and Lory are previously acquainted, and Lory seems to be holding some great animosity towards Cash. Turns out Lory and Cash met one another the previous summer in Maine, Lory had fallen in love with Cash but he rejected her. While Grant is off calling his lawyer, Cash tries to explain that he had made terrible mistake in Maine and that he is in love with her, but she won't listen and storms off.

The sale goes as planned, and Cash is finally able to tell Lory his true feelings for her, but it's not smooth sailing yet. Since Cash is a very wealthy and rather famous businessman (think today’s Donald Trump), there are a lot of dirty rumors going around and a lot of people who want to destroy his credibility. One of these men meets up with Grant Austen, and informs him that Cash has already sold his company for three million, and that he has been ripped off. This sends Grant into a tirade, threatening lawsuit against Cash for fraud. There is also the assistant manager of the hotel in which Cash lives. This woman, a Mrs. Kennard (Nina Foch), is in love with Cash and a very jealous woman.

Cash and Lory have now been seeing each other for a little while now, and Cash has just proposed. Lory is overwhelmed, and of course accepts his proposal. Cash must rush to a business meeting, and leaves Lory at the hotel to wait for him to return. Unfortunately, word has gotten to Mrs. Kennard that there is a woman in Cash’s room. Since she thinks Cash loves her, this sends her into a jealous rage. She rushes up to Cash’s room and feeds Lory some BS story, which sends Lory home in tears.

So now Cash has two problems with the same family. Grant thinks he's been screwed, and Lory thinks he's been screwing around. Cash now must explain to Grant that he’s been on the level, and the only reason he wanted to buy his company was so he could get in contact with Lory whom he is in love with. He also must explain to Lory that there is no other woman, and the blonde is just the crazy hotel assistant manager. Of course he is able to smooth everything out just in time for the classic Hollywood happy ending.

Sure Cash McCall is a cheesy movie, but sometimes that’s OK. The characters are interesting enough, and James Garner puts in a good performance. Also be on the lookout for Edward Platt who plays Harrison Glenn, one of Cash's business associates. I did feel, unfortunately, that Natalie Wood seemed uninspired in the role. I have seen the majority of her films, and feel that she gave one of her weaker performances in this one; also the Barbara Bush hairstyle was less that becoming but that's just my personal opinion. I think Cash McCall is worth seeing, just take it for what it is, a charming yet cheesy slice out of 1950's pop culture. Overall 2.5/4 Stars Grade = C+

Marjorie Morningstar (1958)

Marjorie Morningstar is a piece of cinematic romance from the late 1950's which has been forgotten, and after seeing it I don't believe it has been missed. I'm not saying that it's a particularly bad film; it's just really nothing special.

Natalie Wood stars as Marjorie Morgenstern, a young Jewish woman living with her family in Manhattan. She has been dating a boy named Sandy Lamm for some time, and he is in love with her and wishes to marry her. Marjorie's mother is quite fond of Sandy, whose parents own a department store. Class and business sense is something that is very important to Marjorie’s mother. Unfortunately Marjorie isn't in love with Sandy, or at least she doesn't think so, and their parents are planning a trip in which Sandy and Marjorie could be together all summer. Marjorie isn't too keen on the idea, and her friend Marsha Zelenko (Carolyn Jones) offers to get her a job as dramatic counselor at a girls summer camp.

Across the lake from the girls camp is another camp, kind of a getaway for rich folks. At this camp they have plays, and dances and other types of productions put on to entertain the guests. Marsha has been sneaking across the lake nightly and seeing a musician, and one night she is able to convince Marjorie to come along. It is on this night that Marjorie meets Noel Airman (Gene Kelly) who produces the camps plays, and who will quickly become the love of her life.

After a tumultuous summer of love, Marjorie returns home, single, and finishes college. She is now dating a doctor (Martin Balsam), and pursuing a career as an actress. After returning home one evening, she is surprised to see Noel waiting for her. He has left his job at the camp, and is now working for an advertising agency; and he is still madly in love with Marjorie. Marjorie doesn't plan on anything to happen, but she cannot deny her feelings and the two of them immediately get involved again.

When an old friend Wally (Martin Milner) shows back up, with a new hit Broadway show it really sends Noel off the deep end. He misses his life in show business, and is upset that he never accomplished anything like Wally did. He goes on a drinking binge that ends in an affair, and he calls it off with Marjorie.

Of course it's never really over between Marjorie and Noel, they love each other too much and have too much chemistry. After some period of time, they are back together and Noel is working on a musical of his own and the tumultuous relationship continues. Everett Freeman's script is cheesy at some points, and the film never really challenges Wood or Kelly, and it offers neither of them an opportunity to be great. It's definitely watchable, and it'll get a few good chuckles out of you. If they're showing Marjorie Morningstar on TCM or something and you have nothing else going on, then by all means watch it; but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it unless you are an enormous Natalie Wood or Gene Kelly fan. Overall 2.0/4 Stars Grade = C

Gypsy (1962)

I was very disappointed in Gypsy. I went into the film expecting at least slightly interesting characters, and a decent plot line but that is definitely not what I got. The film is watchable, and the last 15 minutes or so are decent but that's about it. A musical based on the life of real life burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee. The majority of the film takes place in Gypsy's childhood, where she went by Louise. Louise is part of her mother's vaudeville act starring her sister Baby June; Louise is just background noise for now. Louise's mother Rose (Rosalind Russell) is the typical stage mother, pushing her daughters hard and not listening to anything anyone else has to say. On an audition for an act in Hollywood, Rose meets Herbie (Karl Malden). At the time it doesn't seem important, but when the two of them meet again by accident in Oregon something starts to brew. Herbie quickly becomes quite fond of Rose, and offers to drive her and her children up to her father's house in Seattle on his way to Chicago. While on the road Herbie becomes quite attached to Rose, June and Louise and promises to book them an act in Chicago at the Weber Theatre. It's not long before a telegram comes from Herbie informing them they're booked and they're on their way to the big time; all they have to do is get some boys in the show. Once in Chicago the Baby June show really takes off, they're booking vaudeville circuits weekly all over the country. The success is able to continue for several years, but then the depression hits and people aren't interested in vaudeville any more. The shows are becoming less frequent, and the venues less prestigious. June is getting fed up with playing the same role night after night, and wants to pursue other activities, so she runs off and gets married. The boys are aware that vaudeville is dead, and leave to pursue other interests. The only people left with Rose are Louise and Herbie, who knows vaudeville is dead but is too in love with Rose to leave her. Now with June gone, Rose has decided to make Louise a star, problem is that she isn't talented. Rose, of course, won't accept this fact and is determined, so she hires a group of girls to back Louise and creates the vaudeville act Rose Louise and her Hollywood Blondes. Herbie does everything he can to promote it, but the only gig he can get is at a burlesque house as something legitimate to keep the cops out. The show is a flop, but it pays and at the end of the run Herbie and Rose are to be married; something Herbie has longed for for years. As Rose and Louise are packing up to leave the burlesque, Rose overhears the owner complaining that he doesn't have a star stripper booked for the next two weeks. Rose is elated, and rushes in insisting that Louise have the job. Louise must be a star, even if it is just burlesque. The men are desperate, so they agree. This infuriates Herbie, and he leaves Rose for good; but Louise won't leave her mother. She goes on stage as the classiest and most beautiful stripper you'll ever see. It is this act of course that leads to her famous career as Gypsy Rose Lee, queen of the burlesque. The story is good enough, but director Mervyn LeRoy takes way too long to get you there. The music for the most part is mediocre at best, there's maybe one song with a slightly catchy tune; the rest you won't remember right after they're done singing it. They don't even give Natalie a scene to show off her acting prowess until near the end of the picture. The only way I'd recommend Gypsy is if you live for Stephen Sondheim musicals, if not then do yourself a favor and skip it. Overall 1.5/4 Stars Grade = C-

Quai des Orfèvres (1947)

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Quai des Orfèvres is a good film, however it doesn't come close to reaching the quality of The Wages of Fear. The film stars Bernard Blier who plays Maurice Martineau, a musician married to a beautiful singer named Jenny Lamour (Suzy Delair). Jenny is a very ambitious girl; she loves her husband, but getting ahead in the world is very important to her. Maurice sees the way she flirts with other men, and the way they stare and he is a very jealous man. While doing a photo shoot with their good friend Dora (the beautiful Simone Renant), Jenny meets a rich producer named Brignon. Brignon is a "dirty old man", he tells girls that he wants them for pictures so they will sleep with him and take nude photos. Brignon tells Jenny that he wants to sign her on for a picture he’s doing. He makes a date for lunch so that she can meet the director, but of course this isn’t what he has in mind at all. Dora warns Jenny about Brignon, but she won't listen. When Maurice finds out, he goes into a jealous rage and heads down to meet Brignon where he threatens to kill him if he ever contacts Jenny again. Of course Jenny does see him again, she meets him at his home so she can sign a contract. Of course, there is not contract Brignon is just hoping for some action. When Maurice finds out that Jenny is with Brignon it upsets him immensely, so he gets his gun and heads out to kill Brignon. Problem is, when he gets there Brignon is already dead. Cut to Jenny and Dora. Jenny is very upset, she is crying and confesses to Dora that she has just killed Brignon with a bottle of champagne. Another major problem arises when she realizes she left her fox fur at Brignon's home, so Dora volunteers to go retrieve it. So now we have all three main characters at he scene of the murder, on the night of the murder and the police are about to get involved and investigate. Louis Jouvet plays Inspector Antoine, the man in charge of the case. Through the rest of the film, we go through each character’s torture as some try to clear their name, and all of them try to not be caught. Some excellent acting, and a great story with a magnificent ending you won't see coming. Quai des Orfèvres is quite a good little picture that people shouldn't miss, even if it doesn't match up to the masterpiece The Wages of Fear. Overall 3.5/4 Stars Grade = B

Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton is an outstanding edge of your seat thriller. George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, a lawyer for the firm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen. Michael's job is that he cleans up all the messes for the firm. The film starts out with Michael going to meet a high society client who has just hit a man with his car and left the scene. After leaving the man's house, Michael stops along the road to look at some horses. While doing this, his Mercedes explodes from a bomb stashed somewhere in the vehicle. Flash back to four days earlier. Michael is in big debt, owing $75,000 to cover his degenerate brother's debt. Unfortunately Michael himself is broke due to a gambling problem. His firm is nearing a settlement over a six billion dollar class action suit where they are defending an agrochemical company whose product allegedly killed 486 people. The lawyer leading the case for Kenner, Bach and Ledeen is Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson). Arthur is a manic-depressive, who has just decided to stop taking his medication. This causes him to make a scene where he strips down naked during the deposition of the plaintiff. This also leads Arthur to come to the conclusion that the case he's working on and the company he's defending are pure evil. Michael, of course, is sent in to clean up the mess. The more Michael hears from Arthur the more it starts to make sense, and the more desperate Karen Crowder (one of the heads of the agrochemical company) becomes. She hires men to watch Arthur like a hawk, and comes to discover that he is building a case against her company. Of course, knowing that he has a lot of information that could harm her and the company, she panics. This is a great directorial debut from Tony Gilroy, and he is helped out immensely by fantastic performances by Tom Wilkinson, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack. I'm not sure Michael Clayton deserved seven Oscar nominations, but it is definitely worth seeing. Overall 3.5/4 Stars Grade = B+

West Side Story (1961)

When you first start watching West Side Story you'll probably think to yourself "Wow, this is probably the fruitiest movie I've ever seen". But don't worry, it gets better. The story is about two rival gangs in New York, the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets have a small area of land they have deemed as their territory, and the Sharks are trying to take it over. The main difference between the Jets and the Sharks is that while the Jets are white and were born in America, the Sharks are full-blooded Puerto Rican. The Sharks hate the Jets for the sole reason that they are Americans. Ever since the members of the Sharks came to America they have been treated like scum simply because they are Latino, and therefor have a chip on their shoulder. Newer, bigger problems arise one night at a dance in which both gangs are in attendance. Tony (Richard Beymer), who is a co-founder of the Jets but has since left the gang in order to pursue a more legitimate lifestyle notices Maria (Natalie Wood), who is the sister of Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris). Another problem is that she notices him. They are immediately drawn to each other, and it is truly love at first sight. Tony doesn't know who Maria is, and Maria doesn't know who Tony is and the thing is they don't care. They just want to be together. This spectacle of course upsets Bernardo immensely, and he now feels he has even more reason to hate Americans and the Jets. There is nearly a fight between the two gangs right there in the dance hall, but instead Riff (Russ Tamblyn), the leader of the Jets, and Bernardo set up a meeting in order to set up a brawl at a later date. Maria and Tony see each other a few more times and fall deeply in love, but the idea of a brawl is very upsetting to Maria and she makes Tony promise to stop it. Unfortunately, both the Sharks and the Jets want to brawl badly and Tony trying to stop it just leads to more violence and even death. Now with the Sharks out for vengeance, Tony and Maria must get away before more senseless deaths occur. Normally I cannot stand musicals, and for the first half hour or so I thought this was going to be the case with West Side Story, but the film really calms down and actually becomes a decent picture. It did bother me that neither Natalie Wood or Richard Beymer actually sing, it is a dubbed voice and quite obvious. I thought the ending was absolutely superb, with a great scene from Natalie Wood as she displays yet another instance of her thespian superiority. Worth watching, especially if you like musicals but even if you don't. Overall 3.0/4 Stars Grade = B

Autumn Sonata (1978)

Ingmar Bergman is one of the greatest directors of all time, however Autumn Sonata was not one of his best. That's not to say it is a bad film, quite the contrary, its just saying that it is not quite at the level as some of his other films. The film revolves around Eva, played by Liv Ullmann. Eva lives at her home with her husband Viktor (Halvar Björk) and her invalid sister Helena (Lena Nyman) whom she cares for. Eva has not seen her mother for seven years and after hearing about the death of a close friend of her mother’s Eva sends a letter to her mother inviting her to come visit. Her mother, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman), is a world famous classical pianist who spent most of Eva's childhood on tour. At first Eva is ecstatic that her mother has come, but as Ingmar makes apparent, Charlotte is a very selfish woman with seemingly no true feelings for anyone, so this happiness is not to last. It starts with a few minor issues; comments on Eva's interpretation of Chopin, the obligatory visit to Helena, and the attire worn to dinner. Despite these petty issues, everything seems to be going fine; just the minor arguments common within families. During the night Charlotte has a nightmare from which she awakens with a yelp. She heads downstairs to calm her nerves, but her yelp has also awakened Eva who comes down to see if everything is all right. Unfortunately, with this late hour the two of them end up having a long discussion about Eva's childhood where Eva lets out years of pent up rage and hatred towards her mother. Eva even comes out and blames her mother for Helena’s illness. Autumn Sonata is not quite as depressing as most Bergman films, but it’s certainly not cheerful. Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Bergman put out stellar performances, and Ingmar's direction is superb. Björk is also quite good as Viktor, and Lena Nyman does a great job in the role of Helena. Worth seeing if you are a Bergman fan (Ingmar or Ingrid), but I don't think the average American would enjoy this film. Overall 3.0/4 Stars Grade = B