Some Like It Cool (1962)iMDB Rating: 5.2
Tame comedy in which Julie converts her stuffy husband Roger and his equally prudish parents to the joys of nudism.
Call Me Genius (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.5Anthony Hancock gives up his office job to become an abstract artist. He has a lot of enthusiasm, but little talent, and critics scorn his work. Nevertheless, he impresses an emerging very talented artist.
Hilarious Hancock
I am 57 now and was weaned when I was a lad on the various BBC tv series of "Hancock's Half Hour in the 1950's.I became an addict there and then.In later life I carefully recorded the repeats on my vcr (not invented when I was a lad), and purchased cassettes of Tony's earlier radio shows whenever a new volume was available for sale.I have read his biography (1924 - his suicide in Australia in 1968), so he was only 44 when he died.Forget he had a drink problem and could be violent.
Yes, he considered he had outgrown his tv series with Sid James (and Kenneth Williams earlier) and even his later solo "Hancock" tv series from 1959 onwards.As a previous literate reviewer has rightly remarked, he hankered after a wider international audience for his comic abilities and appeared in later films like "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" even trying his hand in Hollywood with Walt Disney but I consider "The Rebel" from 1961 as his funniest film.It incorporates many characters like the existentialist lady on the big screen who have been heard before, e.g. Fenella Fielding in the radio show "The East Cheam Poetry Festival" from 1954.John le Mesurier often played "establishment" figures in his half hour shows and was a personal friend and here he plays Hancock's authoritarian boss in the dreary office where we first see him in an almost synchronised early scene where the clerks all do a similar computation function simultaneously.How we office workers with aspirations of individual creativity empathise with him in his rebellious behaviour!!
A new "Mrs Cravatte" in the shape of Irene Handle (not Patricia Hayes who was merely a char lady in the tv series), provides a female comic foil as Tony's landlady.It is interesting he retains his real name in this feature film, presumably he considered he could effectivly develop his bohemian character from the tv onto the broader canvas.I revisited this film after 20 years or so and laughed out loud in several places.The point already made that American/overseas viewers may be perplexed with his humour is easy to understand and our current UK generation may be left cold by it.My generation however which was reared on a diet of post war food rationing, spivs, watching wealthy Americans in the media, the McMillan type establishment figures in politics and industry, trends in fashion, pop music etc; can so empathise with his humour.I gave it 7/10.
The Queen's Guards (1961)iMDB Rating: 6.9Captains John Fellows and Henry Wynne-Walton finish their Army training at Sandhurst Military Academy and are sent to the Middle-East. John is to lead a parachute battalion while Henry is put in charge of a platoon of armoured cars of the Household Cavalry. John is constantly being told by his father, an ex-Guards officer that he is not as good as his brother who was killed during the war.
A fine exposition of British military tradition at its best.
"Guards! Guards! Call out the Guards!" And this could only mean the Queen's Guards and the English look to them in times of military emergency. With their ceremonial uniform of Buckingham red with that unlikely shako supposedly made of bear skin; with their mounted units wearing polished breastplates during full dress parades, they are world famous as tourist attractions. Little do people know that these are the cream of the elite of the British military corps. If I am not mistaken, their members are selected from the various services. Thus, they are commandos, paratroopers, tank men, intelligence specialists, etc.
As a little boy, I was fully taken in by the ceremonial parade at the end of the movie: "Escort to the colors! Forward!" Somehow when the goosestep is done by The Guards, it doesn't seem sinister. And the intricate but highly dignified dressage executed by the commander of the mounted unit is admirable.
The military action is in the Middle East in connection with the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. Egypt then took full control of the canal and the British and French felt that their interests were threatened.
There is a touching scene near the end during a ceremonial parade with the Queen in attendance. A semi-paralyzed veteran has an apartment overlooking the square (Trafalgar?). He's bedridden but he manages to put on his military uniform. There is a series of bars on the ceiling of his apartment and with a hook or a cane, he manages to get a hold of them and he painfully and laboriously locomotes himself to the window to get a view of The Guards as they are honored by the Queen.
Pit and the Pendulum (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.1Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the brutest torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive! Strange things then start to happen in the Medina castle.
Another great Gothic horror!
Right after the success of "House of Usher", director Roger Corman wanted to make another adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Masque of the Red Death", however, he felt that it was not the time for that project and decided to make the short story "Pit and the Pendulum". Reunited with Vincent Price and most of the crew of his previous film, Corman crafted another brilliant entry in the Gothic horror sub genre and a film that proved that the praise for "House of Usher" was well-deserved and not a mere lucky strike.
The plot follows Englishman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) on his trip to Spain as he has received news of the death of his beloved sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). At his arrival, he is informed by Elizabeth's widower, Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price), that she died of a strange blood disease, but strange events begin to happen and both men will discover the strange mystery hidden behind the walls of Medina's castle.
Written by frequent collaborator Richard Matheson, the film is not really a faithful adaptation, it is a cleverly written story that fuses many different Poe's short stories in one. The story unfolds nicely and as in the previous film, the characters are the film's soul. Matheson perfectly forms the bonds and relationships between them and none is left without a time to shine. The mystery of Elizabeth's death and Medina's castle is very well-handled and the unexpected climax is a classic horror moment. Once again Matheson delivers a terrific script that captures Poe's obsession with ancient buildings and Gothic settings.
Despite the low-budget, Roger Corman manage to surpass what he achieved in "House of Usher" taking care in every little detail, with the lavish sets and gorgeous cinematography making the film look as beautiful as a canvas. The films of the so-called "Poe cycle" are almost always labeled as his best and not without a reason, as they prove that Corman was not a mere director of low-grade cheap films. He was truly a daring and inventive artist and this film remains as one of his most powerful masterpieces.
The cast this time is superb, with Vincent Price taking the lead role with great talent and powerful presence. With ease he can go from melodrama to utter horror and his melancholic over-the-top melodrama was right at home in Poe's adaptations. John Kerr makes a terrific counterpart and his performance is very believable. As a stranger in a strange-land, his character brings balance to the film and Kerr makes the most of it. The beautiful ladies Barbara Steel and Luana Anders show off not only their beauty, but also their talent. Steel's aura of mystery suits perfectly the atmospheric horror of the film and Anders displays her talent for melodrama.
The film is near perfect and a great joy to watch. Never dull nor boring, the film captures the Gothic horror of Poe's stories and gives them homage in a grandiose way. A big improvement over the first of Corman's "Poe films", it's hard to find a flaw in it as nearly everything is its right place. From Price's on-screen presence to the wonderful sets, "Pit and the Pendulum" is a masterpiece of low-budget film-making, a movie that looks even better than most of the big studios productions.
"Pit and the Pendulum" proved to be up to its reputation and it quickly became a favorite of mine. Personally, the discovery of this gems has drastically changed my idea of Roger Corman's work, as this group of films prove that this man is a serious artist who knew how to make a movie that was an economic and a artistic success. This film is another great Gothic horror treasure. 8/10
L'oro di Roma (1961)iMDB Rating: 6.9Italian realism mixed with WW2 historical.
Companion to Lizzani's "Hunchback of Rome", lacking that films kinkiness and vigour.
The opening has leather suits take the WW2 Roman Jewish leader to hear that the German commander demands fifty kilos of gold or two hundred heads of families as hostages. Sub plot offers Ferrero about to marry Catholic Sorel (here a soppy juvenile ) though she was Jewish militant Blain's dream girl.
Blain's goes off to join the partisans and newly baptised Ferrero sees the sinister outcome.
Not enough telling moments in the could have been more imposing development, along with ordinary sixties wide screen production values.
One, Two, Three (1961)iMDB Rating: 8.0Berlin is the epitome of political and economic polarization. A microcosm of that polarization is the life of American C.R. MacNamara, known as Mac to his friends. He is Coca-Cola's head of West Berlin operations, although he feels he deserves to be Coca-Cola's head of European operations based in London. Mac's wife, Phyllis, wants him instead to get a steady and stable job back in head office in Atlanta. His West Berlin staff are all still used to treating him like their old master, the Fuhrer. The one exception is his secretary, Ingeborg, who is the latest in the long line of his secretary mistresses. And he's working on a trade agreement of getting Coca-Cola into the Russian market. His life goes into a tailspin when he hosts Scarlett Hazeltine in his home for two weeks. She is the seventeen year old spoiled and party-loving daughter of his Atlanta based boss, Wendell Hazeltine. Unlike most of the stops she's made on her European trip, Scarlett seems to like West Berlin and stays ...
Exceptional Cold War Spoof
Billy Wilder's hilarious Cold War comedy that only gets better with each viewing. It does help some, of course, to know the politics of the region and of that time period. Irregardless, one need not be a Hoover Institute Fellow to pick these up quickly. James Cagney, proving his acting range was virtually borderless, turns in a superb performance as the soft drink exec seeking an upper echelon corporate job.
With a terrific supporting cast, Cagney's corporate dreams are about to explode, when the boss' wild daughter flies into Berlin. Creating havoc, and not to mention more stress on his wounded marriage, the daughter runs off cavorting about in the Eastern Sector.
Corporate ambitions, romance and strong politics collide in this volatile, hilarious, extremely fast paced comedy. This is how a real comedic farce is put together, and it goes off without a hitch, all the way to the last gag. There's also some great homages/inside jokes to boot. A comedy classic, and another gem from Mr. Wilder.
Mysterious Island (1961)iMDB Rating: 6.8During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island, inhabited by giant plants and animals. They must use their ingenuity to survive the dangers, and to devise a way to return home. Sequel to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'.
Jules Verne Meets King Kong
Harryhausen crossed Jules Verne with King Kong in his version of Mysterious Island, giving the author's Civil War castaways something really mysterious to look at for a change. The result is a Skull Island-style adventure with a nifty 19th century set-up, and one of the stop-motion maestro's most satisfying films. Harryhausen movies are at their best when Harryhausen is unabashedly the star—-as he is here in Mysterious Island. From this high-water mark in the early Sixties, Harryhausen's films slowly began to shipwreck on two constantly reiterated movie-making clichés. First, writers began to tell Harryhausen that his effects ought to be better integrated into the overall plot, that they ought not to be isolated set pieces sprinkled through the picture like plums in a fruitcake. Secondly, critics continued to repeat the old film music legend that movie scoring is best when it fades unnoticed into the background. Both of these old saws were, in fact, horrible lies. And Mysterious Island is great because Harryhausen and his composer were still refusing to take any notice of them. The effects sequences in Mysterious Island aren't plums in a fruitcake, they're solos in a symphony, they're like the soliloquies in Shakespeare. And Bernard Herrmann's scoring for these episodes is in your face…as it should be. It jumps up and screams "THIS IS A SET-PIECE…AND A GREAT ONE. KICK BACK AND ENJOY IT!" And this, once again, is as it should be. The truth is, that stop-motion isn't an effects technique. It's an art form. If you can't enjoy it for it's own sake, then you can't enjoy it. Every attempt Harryhausen later made to "integrate" his stuff just encouraged people to take it seriously--as a serious attempt, that is, to duplicate reality. Which it isn't. We go to a Harryhausen film for Harryhausen, just as we go to a Chaplin film for Chaplin. If you came in for some other reason, then you picked the wrong movie. That said, Mysterious Island really does work, I think, as a 60s "Jules Verne" picture. The period atmosphere is some of the best in any of those movies and the interesting Nautilus variation we see here is fun to look at in its own right. The acting is quite good also, and Cy Endfield is one of the better Harryhausen directors. But the Verne elements are really just the frame around the picture. Like I said, go for Ray's monsters--then go out and tell the world.
I Like Money (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.1Mr. Topaze ('Peter Sellers') is an unassuming school teacher in an unassuming small French town who is honest to a fault. He is fired when he refuses to give a passing grade to a bad student, the grandson of a wealthy baroness. Castel Benac (Herbert Lom), a government official who runs a crooked financial business on the side, is persuaded by his mistress, Suzy (Nadia Gray), a musical comedy actress, to hire Mr. Topaze as the front man for his business. Gradually, Topaze becomes a rapacious financier who sacrifices his honesty for success and, in a final stroke of business bravado, fires Benac and acquires Suzy in the deal. An old friend and colleague, Tamise (Michael Gough) questions him and tells Topaze that if what he now says and practices indicates there are no more honest men.
Peter Sellers' forgotten film
A few know that Peter Sellers once-apart from starring-directed a film! This was "Mr.Topaze" or "I Like money"(as it was screened by that name in the US). Actually, it is not a masterpiece, but not a poor film too, as the reviews of its time claimed. Peter plays a naive teacher, a man of spirit who is corrupted by money and power. What is very interesting is that the film has quite many "serious" moments and Peter depicts the teacher with accuracy. What's more, the film's finale isn't comic at all. Pity this film was never released on VHS on DVD(but it is never too late, is it?)!
Kozara (1962)iMDB Rating: 7.2In June of 1942 Germans and their collaborators decide to get rid of partisans and their stronghold in the woods of Mount Kozara in Northern Bosnia. They encircle the mountain and begin the mop up operation. Out gunned and outnumbered the partisans must not only take care of themselves but try to protect thousands of refugees too.
Wonderful film
I saw this a long time ago on tv and it made a lasting impact on me.Its a gripping story of the heroism of Yugoslav partisans fighting outnumbered against Nazis.Many awesome scenes,high on emotions and a definite tear jerker.This is a work to be admired.
Kohayagawa-ke no aki (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.9The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
ozu's colour masterpiece
After his second experience with colour, a light, happy "Ohayo", secretly epic and impressed, Ozu shot one of the milestones of his career: "Kohayagawa-ke no aki" is in my recollection, with "Banshun" and "Munakata shimai", his best work. Most of the themes exposed in previous films (father's intervention in his daughters' lifes, love (in the hands of others), solitude) are here integrated in a comedy-structured film that becomes a drama. It's perhaps his unique melodrama and it is shown with the desperate of the last breath for some characters, as usual in Ozu, doubtful and seeking a place for their quiet happiness.
There is no Ozu film nearest Sirk's or Minneli's universe like this one.
Junglee (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.3Chandrashekhar (Shammi Kapoor) or Shekhar as he is called now, belongs to an aristrocratic family, who believe laughter is a sign of belonging to the lower class, and as a result laughter is not encouraged in the household, run by Shekhar's domineering mom (Lalita Pawar). In this household the only one who dares to laugh and enjoy life is Shekhar's sister Mala (Shashikala), who also dares to love Jeevan (Anoop Kumar). Things change when their mom finds out about Mala's indiscretions, and she asks Shekhar to take her away from their home, to distant and scenic Kashmir, for awhile. She also instructs Shekhar to arrange to get married to a girl from a princely family. When Shekhar escorts Mala out of town, and on reaching Kashmir, he meets up with beautiful Rajkumari (Saira Banoo), and after being stranded with her for a night during a snowstorm, he realizes what he has been missing, and becomes a care-free man in love. This change is welcomed by Mala, but not by his mother. To make ...
Juglee = Comedy + Best Songs ...
Junglee Was Directed By Subodh Mukherjee ...The Same Director Who Had Directed Munimji,Paying Guest & Love Marriage ...With Dev Anand In Lead...All Were Successful Movies...So Better Was Expected...The Writer Is Again Subodh...The Script Is Very Attractive ...Screenplay Is Better..The Story Revolves Around A Rich Dictator & A Poor Girl..How They Fall For Each Other & Consequences ...The Plot Is Similar To King Uncle Which Was Made In Early 90's With Jackie Shroff & Shah Rukh Khan.
Dev Anand Was In But Due To Some Issues ...He Was Replaced With Shammi Kapoor...And Everyone Knows How Shammi Kapoor Was In The Movie No Explanation Needed ...He Was Outstanding...Especially The Comic Scenes...It Was Saira Banu Debut Movie But Her Acting Was Compliment To Shammi Kapoor... Lalita Pawar Who Use To Be Mother In Most Of The Movies In Those Days...Was A Strict Mother..With Discipline & Set Of Rules...Shashikala Was Fine...
Music Of The Movie Is The Strongest Part Of The Movie ...Music Was Given By The Very Best Shankar Jaikishan...Every Song Is A Masterpiece ...The Numbers Like Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujhpar By Rafi, Karoon Main Kya Suku Suku By Rafi With Shammi Kapoor With Helen Was A Treat ...And The Most Unique Composition " Yahooo Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" Was The Best Of The Lot...
There Was Nothing Wrong About The Movie...But The Plot Would Have Been Better...Overall A Excellent Entertainer ...Watch It If You Want To See The Best Of Shammi Kapoor On Screen.
Don Camillo monsignore... ma non troppo (1961)iMDB Rating: 6.9Don Camillo is now a bishop, Peppone is now a senator, but their rivalry is as fierce as when they were just a village priest, and a village administrator. Don Camillo learns that Peppone is about to promote the building of a communal house on the place of an old, derelict church, and that spurns the old flame. They descend from Rome onto quiet Brescello, and they will agitate their faithful hosts, christians against communists, using all devious ways. Even Christ makes a cameo appearance, when things are going a trifle too far.
The weakest Don Camillo film - but still enjoyable!
Of course, it's a matter of taste, but for me, it's the low point in the DonCamillo series, despite the actors giving great performances as always.
The problem here is the plot. We start with DC and Peppone both "trapped" in Rome - DC in the Vatican, Peppone in the Senate - and both grabbing the opportunity of a small local conflict to hurry back to Brescello. So, the opportunity for fish-out-of-water gags is wasted and the first 15 minutes do exactly nothing to further any plot apart from setting up a running gag (both remain at home much longer than planned, thinking up every kind of excuses not to return to Rome).
Back in Brescello, it's business as usual, quite literally: Many of the episodes are just rehashes of similar ones from films 1 & 2. There's little tension and few (if any) surprises; every subplot develops as expected.
Summaryy: While the film feels like a nice old acquaintance, it fails to hold my attention or bring something new to the world of DonCamillo.
Barabbas (1961)iMDB Rating: 7.0Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was spared crucifixion when Pilate manipulated the crowd into to pardoning him, rather than Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.
Among the best of all Biblical epics
Richard Fleischer was a good jobbing director but there were occasions when he seemed inspired. "The Vikings" is one of the great genre movies and "The Boston Strangler" is one of the best police procedural films ever made. This is very much in the same class and has much to commend it. It's biggest drawback is that the early scenes never quite shake off the enforced piety that engulfed Hollywood movies that centered on Christ. Is it any wonder that Monty Python lampooned such movies in their "Life of Brian"? On the other hand, coming as it does from a novel by Nobel prize-winning author Par Lagerkvist and scripted as it is by Christopher Fry, the film is more intellectually challenging than we have any right to expect, (for example Barabbas has a discussion with Lazarus on what it was like to have died and then to be raised from the dead), while at the same time not skimping on the spectacle, (the gladiatorial scenes are superb).
It begins with the freeing of Barabbas in the place of Jesus, then follows him on his own journey of redemption as he realizes that it was through Christ's death that he came to live. It's a theme, of course, as old as the Bible itself and as religious movies go it's a bit simplistic but it does work on a primitive, intellectually jarring level and it doesn't thrust it's religiosity down our throats. Barabbas' journey of discovery is long, slow and painfully questioning and is consequently quite moving.
No one in the large, international cast gets to rise above being a Biblical or gladiatorial cliché with the exception of Anthony Quinn in the title role. He is excellent and had yet to give way to the bombast of Zorba the Greek. Still, neither Quinn's performance nor the film have ever been given their due. Perhaps a movie about the man who lived so that Christ might die proved unpalatable. Nevertheless, it is certainly worth rediscovering.
Bahía de Palma (1962)iMDB Rating: 5.5Misleading bikini
Some films like 'Last Tango in Paris' 1972, or in Spain 'La trastienda-Back of the Store' 1975, are only remembered for a landmark detail in the history of cinema restrictions/censorship that has little impact on the story explored on screen. In this case a very brief shot of two blonds in bikinis; the first shown in a Spanish film. The brief (and now demure) scene, nonetheless creates the same "steamy" feeling of desire that was previously captured in Fred Zinnemann's 1953 'From Here to Eternity'. This summer tryst set on the island of Mallorca, with all its tourists, concerns a spoilt and bored heiress (Olga/Elke Sommer), whose only pleasure appears to be humiliating others, and a surly pianist with an uncomfortable past (Mario/Arturo Fernández), who should be playing Chopin rather than provide the ambiance in a open air night club! Note the care taken by Elke Sommer's hair stylist.
