Reviews (26)

The King of Elvis flicks
Even the stuffy New York Times praised Elvis Presley's performance in "King Creole," and why not? Everything clicks in this adaptation of Harold Robbins' novel, "A Stone for Danny Fisher." For once, Elvis has a good script, a terrific supporting cast, a first class director, and a role worthy of an actor which he shows himself to be while also singing an album's worth of outstanding songs. He's not the surly creep of "Jailhouse Rock," nor is he the bloated beach boy of most of his 60's movies. He's a good kid whose boredom with school and disappointment with his homelife leads him to explore life on the wrong side of the tracks where he encounters a switchblade flinging Vic Morrow, a sleazy Walter Matthau, and a beautiful but been around Carolyn Jones. Along the way, he also performs brilliant, knockout musical numbers like "New Orleans," "Trouble," "Dixieland Rock," and the amusing "Lover Doll" (no "Old MacDonald's Farm" in this movie). It all adds up to the King's best film, one of the few in which he wore his crown with honor.

Elvis Presley's personal favorite film role
"King Creole" from 1958,(the same year Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S.Army),is a good drama with a few good musical numbers thrown in. Shot in glorious black&white and produced by Hal Wallis,who produced some of Mr. Presley's biggest hits("Loving You" from 1957,"Blue Hawaii" from 1961,"Girls!Girls! Girls!" from 1962) and directed by Michael Curtiz(the classic "Casablanca"),the story takes place in New Orleans and Elvis stars as Danny Fisher,a disillusioned high school drop out with designs on being a singer.Danny gets a job at the night club "King Creole". The picture features a fine supporting cast including the late,great Walter Matthau,very effective as a sleazy gangster,Carolyn Jones as the gangster's kept woman,Dean Jagger as Danny's father,Vic Morrow as a hoodlum and one of the gangster's henchman and Dolores Hart as Danny's girlfriend,(Ms. Hart after making several movies left acting and decided to become a nun in the mid '60's).Elvis's top ten hit single from this movie was "Hard Headed Woman".Also, "Trouble" was a well known number.Elvis Presley had said in interviews that of all the 30 odd pictures he had made Danny Fisher in "King Creole" was his personal favorite film role.And,Mr. Presley added that he hated most of the rest of the pictures he had made.

Actually 4 and 1/2 Stars, But...
I can't give that rating on Amazon. Anyway, as a lover of EP's music, and at the time only his music, I was so so so very hesitant to ever give a film of his the smallest chance, because of all the negative things I had heard. I didn't want a bad film to ruin the image that the music had created in my mind. So it was 35 years of just music, nothing else.
Then this past April 2004 I was able to make a "pilgrimage" to Memphis, specifically Graceland. While talking with an employee in one of the giftshops, she convinced me to give certain films a try, and King Creole was the one she recommended I start with. She was kind enough to also recommend a few that I must avoid at all costs, namely Girls, Girls, Girls.
If I could meet this Graceland employee again, I would thank her several times over. King Creole is a quality film that has an actual, and quasi-believable, plot. It has Elvis at his most handsome, and in black and white, that comes through even more. He gives a commendable performance, and his costars carry their weight in the film well also, esp the beautiful Carolyn Jones.
I would classify King Creole as a good overall film, and in the Elvis realm, I would consider it a great film. I think it is his best.

Reel Elvis
This is more like it. A great movie, well directed and acted by all concerned.

Elvis is fantasic. He looks great, looks enthused and is enjoying working with a great cast and crew. This is just the type of movie he should have been doing but, as is known, went on to make the likes of Girls, Girls, Girls and, God help us, Speedway.

The songs are good, the story is good, it looks like money was spent on it. What a pity his stint in the Army more or less ruined his movie career. This is highly recommended along with Flaming Star and Wild in the Country.

good elvis flick
I would rank this as one of the better elvis films along with "love me tender" and "jailhouse rock" also recommend "loving you" ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Good, Clean Fun For The Whole Family!
This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!!! I am an avid fan of The Andy Griffith Show, but even if you're not, you'll love this movie. Andy plays a backwoods hick that is drafted into the Air Force. When he meets the tough, rules and regulations world of the Air Force, all sorts of hilarious situations arise. Buy this movie, its one for the whole family.

Funny Air Force Comedy("I'm P L O!")
This is one I have had in my collection for years. Great fun from start to finish. Griffith is funny, but so are the co stars(Adams, McCormick, Knotts, etc.). Inspection scene is classic as is the pyschiatrist sketch. McCormick is hilarious as the tired old Air Force Staff Sgt. who assigns Griffith job as permanent latrine orderly(PLO!). Andy Griffith show fans will recognize that this was the first on-screen teaming of Knotts and Griffith. This one is full of memorable lines such as Pvt. Whitledge(Adams) telling Stockdale(Griffith)"Honest, Will, sometimes I wonder why they took ya in the draf at all!". Fans of MASH will recognize a young Jamie Farr in latter half of film. This film came out during a post Word War II and Post Korean War America and there is even a subplot thrown in involving the Yucca Flats testing site. I have never seen the tv version or the broadway play, but this film is just downright funny and all fans of Griffith or anyone that has been in the military should watch this one.

No Time for Sergeants
Great family movie. Shipped very quickly.

DVD, Please!!!
We have watched this movie many times. In fact this video is what turned our kids onto the "old" movies that they now like so well. Please tell me there are putting it on DVD!!! Kids love it. I love it. We pop it in any time we just want a good, healthy laugh.

one of the greatest
I have remembered this as one of my favorite films of all time. This is one of the most hilarious movies that Andy Griffith has has ever made. It is funny, sweet, tender, kind, and has all of the good things encountered in the best movies. I highly recommend this film and wish it would come out on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (74)

A subtle movie! A Dynamite Cast! A Gorgeous Score!
This is a subtle and rewarding film. The cast is magnificent--the performances great! One of my favorite film scores too!

A hint for watching the movie. With each viewing, I find I have been concentrating on a different actor. Kim Novak is definitely at her peak; William Holden is remarkable; Rosalind Russell is at her very best, with a fantastically varied and difficult part; Susan Strasberg is wonderful indeed. All of the supporting actors are super too! And this IS primarily a story of individuals' lives, and how they are changed.

The film gives a remarkably accurate picture of life in 1950's rural Kansas. But onto this background is thrust a love story of great interest and appeal. The film has super color and fine sound (for its era anyway).

The film is, quite simply, astounding. Don't rent it....buy it, bucause it just gets better and better with repeated watchings!

Dripping with lust!
Picnic is one of those films that just transports the viewer into another time and era and that's the sign of a truly great film. Holden has the daunting task of playing a loveable hustler with big dreams that he just can't make happen. So he decides to go back to familiar grounds and falls for kim Novak. Novak is a treasure in this movie her exotic beauty and shaky voice highlights her characters uneveness to conform into the town's perfect beautiful young woman. This film at it's time was billed as too sexy due to the dance that Novak and Holden share at the picnic and till this day the scene holds up great. The lust in both their eyes and Novaks raw sex appeal against Holden's rugged good looks is a sight to be hold. But the back story which I won't give a hint of is the true tale of this flick and shows how human nature is always determined by the role society wants you to play based on your looks! This film still holds up today as a work of pure sexual energy and raw human emotions.

William Holden & Kim Novak are OUTSTANDING in Picnic
I saw PICNIC during its release in 1956 in India when I was in
school. I was crazy about English films and never missed a good
film.one of my class mates saw the film before me and remarked
about the energetic dancing of Holden as spellbinding.I was not
that keen in the beginning to see the film due to its title which meant lightweight and fun. But when I saw the film the experience was tremendous, I had just seen a masterpiece. William Holden and Kim Novak were just outstanding. Holden

brought a breath of fresh air as soon as he appeared, and Kim
Novak was not just a small town beauty queen, she oozed raw sex
and hidden desires exposed to the full by carefree but passionate William Holden. Although, without doubt the highlight of the film was the picnic and the dancing where all the principal players of the film are envolved emotionally and the finale to the story builds up, there other memorable scenes notably the swing scene where Holden gets hold of the swing where Novak is sitting, he begins playing with it unintentionally and realises for the first time that he has fallen for the fiancee of his best friend. Then there is that passionate scene beside the waterfall where both Holden and Novak admit their love for each other and kiss intensly, Holden with torn shirt. After this Holden runs and catches the running train and finally Novak follows him, her true love in the Greyhound. The execution of all these scenes and the whole story is nothing less than perfect. James Wong Hoe's technicolor photography is outstanding. Needless to say I have seen this film many times since and found it always charming.

Holden Sparks, Novak Smolders, Kansas Burns
In a decade of conformity and great prosperity William Inge and Tennessee Williams tackled subjects ahead of their time. Of course they in some cases had to veil the subject matter but that lead to some wonderful revelations in writing and reading between the lines. In this DVD from Colombia of Inge's Pulitzer Prize winning 'Picnic' we have one of the best films of this genre of sexual repression, animal heat, and desperation in small town America.
Most reviewers of this film might begin with the leads but I must start of with the wonderful Verna Felton as Helen Potts the sweet old lady who is caretaker of her aged mother and lives next door to the Owens family. This gifted and now forgotten character actress sets the tone of the picture as she welcomes drifter Hal Carter (William Holden) into her house. At the end of the film she glows in tender counterpoint to the dramatic ending. She is the only person who understands Hal, even more than Madge (Kim Novak). Her speech about having a man in the house is pure joy to watch. It is a small but important performance that frames the entire story with warmth and understanding.
Betty Field turns in a sterling performance as Flo Owens, Mother of Madge and Millie. She is disapproving of Millie's rebellious teen and smothering of her Kansas hothouse rose Madge. A single Mom trying in desperation to keep Madge from making the same mistakes she did. She becomes so wrapped up in Madge's potential for marriage to the richest boy in town she completely ignores the budding greatness that is bursting to get out in her real treasure. Millie.
Susan Strasberg creates in her Millie a sweet comic oddball. She is the youngest daughter who awkwardly moves through the landscape nearly un-noticed, reading the scandalous "Ballad of the Sad Café" being the only one who is different and can't hide it. Her yearning to get out of the smallness of small town life is colored with the skill of a young actress with greatness her.
Rosalind Russell nearly steals the show as the fourth woman in the Owens household boarder, Rosemary, a frantic, hopeless and clutching spinster. In the capable hands of Miss Russell we have a real powerhouse of a performance. She imbues Rosemary with all the uptight disapproval of a woman who knows that her time has past and there are very few options left. She is electric in her need for love. Every nuance of her emotions is sublime in her presentation. Just watch her hands alone.
Floating above all of this is Madge Owens, the kind of girl who is too pretty to be real. The kind of girl who in a small town like this is not understood to have any real feelings or thoughts other than those that revolve around being beautiful and empty. Enter Kim Novak, who is just such a girl. Who could ever expect such a beauty to be anything more than just pretty? But Miss Novak, a vastly underrated actress in her day paints a knowing and glowing portrait of Madge. Her explosion of sexual heat upon meeting Hal for the first time is internal and barely perceptible until she looks at him from behind the safety of the screen door the end of their first scene. That screen door is a firewall protecting her from the flames. She fights in the early part of the film to keep her sexual desire for Hal in check. That night she loses her fight at the picnic and we watch as she opens to reveal a woman of feelings and dreams so much deeper than the prettiness of her eyes or the luminosity of her skin. This is one of Kim Novak's early great roles and one she fills out with lush and deep emotion.
The lives of all of these women of Nickerson Kansas are changed one Labor Day when Hal comes steaming into town. William Holden gives a raw and wounded portrayal to Hal, a man at the edge of his youth and on the verge of becoming a lost man. He lives as he always has, on the fading glow of his golden boy charm and his muscular magnetism. Holden was 35 when he made Picnic, a real golden boy at the edge of his youth. He was perfect for the part. Some reviewers say he was too old to play Hal, but I disagree. Without being thirty-five in real life as well as in the story Rosemary's "Crummy Apollo" speech would not be so effective or devastating. Hal is a man who never bothered to grow up, a man who never let anyone get too close for fear they might see through is bravado and discover his fears of feeling something, anything before it's too late.
Holden also brings a sexual heat to the film that is eons beyond the time it was filmed. He is presented almost like a slab of meat. He struts around in a pre-Stonewall dream of sexy hotness. Not only the girls in town notice him but a few boys too. (There are several layers to Nick Adams paperboy if one bothers to look.) When finally Holden sparks with Novak they blow the lid off of the uptight code bound studio-strangled world of Hollywood in the Fifties.
The film is photographed magnificently in lush color and cinemascope by famed cinematographer James Wong Howe. The famous score by George Durning is classic not only for the famous reworking of the old standard "Moonglow" but for his virtuosity in dramatic power. This is a giant of a score from the silver age of film music. The direction by Josh Logan is perfect in every way and stands among the best of his work.

Moonglow moments
You know it's good:

1. It's the look on William Holden's face when he first catches a glimpse of Kim Novak coming down the stairs in that pink dress. ("Madge is the pretty one"--she sure is)
2. It's the way she shimmies up to him. Revealing her intentions, she never loses eye contact or says a word.
3. It's the moment he takes her into his arms to dance close--he gives a little sigh of pleasure.
4. It's the look on his face when he's dancing--that criptic smile of pleasure and sensuality--all the while knowing that she's totally off limits.

and of course the song itself. This scene in itself makes the movie and with DVD you can play it over and over and over... Not many dance scenes have stood the test of time. I loved it. What can I say--I'm a chick. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When the radiation-spawned giant ants of Them! swarmed over American screens to become one the most successful films of 1954, it didn't take long for the rest of the insect kingdom to follow suit. The best of these mutant bug movies is Jack Arnold's giddy Tarantula, with Leo G. Carroll as a scientist whose experimental, radiation-treated nutritional supplements transform the title creature into a rampaging monster. The hungry arachnid graduates from rabbits to cattle to people as it grows and creeps across the barren countryside in search of food, dwarfing the desert hills in simple but unsettling special effects shots. John Agar plays the square-jawed doctor who tries to warn the local populace of the impending menace and Clint Eastwood has a bit as an Air Force pilot called in to bomb the now mountain-sized spider. It's an essentially silly story with plenty of heroic dashing about and monster-movie tropes ("See its mandibles crush cars like a tin cans!"), but Arnold, one of the most talented and thoughtful genre directors of the 1950s (It Came From Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man), creates a surprisingly eerie mood with his austere visual style and winds the film up with his tension-building rapid pacing. Composer-playwright Richard O'Brien liked thefilm so much he immortalized it in the Rocky Horror Picture Show: "Leo G. Carroll was over a barrel when the Tarantula took the hills." The film still straddles the line between nostalgic goofiness and smart sci-fi thrills. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (27)

"Tarantula" Has Plenty Of "Bite"! A Fun "Huge Insect" Film!
Many people categorize 1955's sci-fi film "Tarantula" as a "B" picture or a "cult" flick for just sci-fi buffs. While this may be true to some degree I suppose, I believe this little chiller rises above the average "B" movie, and reaches a loftier status.

It's a very re-watchable film, with some pretty good acting and well-drawn characters. Plus a plot that's not totally off-the-wall. Well, yeah, it's out in left field (somewhat), but not so much as to be considered completely ludicrous in every sense.

Leo G. Carroll does a fine job as the bio-chemist whose experiments with a new "growth formula" on animals (including our menacing friend, Mister "Tarantula") go terribly wrong when the multi-legged beast escapes Carroll's laboratory.

I truly enjoy watching this movie -- no matter how many screenings I give it. The atmosphere, characters, and storyline have me "locked in" from the very start.

And the special effects don't look too bad either -- considering it's from 1955 and well before "CGI" type beasts & explosions.

I even kind of like the rather corny (and, I assume, not realistic) "hissing"/"rattling" noises that emanate from the super-sized spider during the film. LOL!

Also on the humorous side of things -- I've always thought it was mighty cooperative of our giant-sized, venom-spewing beast to "follow the road into town" at the end of the film, thereby making the townspeople's job of setting up the dynamite a great deal easier. (Since when do spiders follow the 'rules of the road'? Oh, well, I guess we'll just assume that our Tarantula here owns a '55 Chevy, and is familiar with the desert highways that surround him. LOL!)

This whole movie is great fun from start to finish. Plus -- There's a fun "Theatrical Trailer" for the film included on this VHS version.

If you like really big hairy spiders, then look no further than 1955's "Tarantula".

CLASSIC SPIDER FILM
It's been almost 50 years since TARANTULA first hit the big screen. Having seen the movie when I was a little kid running around to all the monster double-features, I have to say this one remained with me through all these years. Watching it was like spending time with an old childhood friend. Considering it was 1955, the effects in this movie are pretty frightening, especially when viewing the entire real tarantula that was superimposed. The closeups are cheesy, but we didn't have CGI then. John Agar, Leo G. Carroll (who would go on to be the boss for the man from UNCLE), Mara Corday (Black Scorpion), Nestor Paiva, Hank Patterson (Green Acres), and yes, even Clint Eastwood are around to flesh out the characters. Arnold was smart in doing a lot of the effects at night, giving us a shadow of the spider to boot. This is much better (I think) than THEM or THE BLACK SCORPION, and it deserves to be on DVD, so let's get with it, Universal!
A classic film of the 20th century horror genre!

Ultimate 50s sci fi!
Tarantula is a highlight of the continuous stream of monster B movies produced in the 50s and 60s. This is the story of a lifelong scientist (Leo Carroll), who is attempting to produce technology for the world to benefit from. When he is attacked one night by one of his former partners, a mutated tarantula is set loose in an Arizona town. The town medical doctor (John Agar), realizes that life is at stake, and must find a way to destroy this creature before it is too late. The formula used to mutate the arachnid has produced fatal effects on humans, deforming and killing them in a matter of 4 days.
Jack Arnold's edge of your seat lore did not need to be remade several years ago. If they are planning to outdo the 1950's "Tarantula", they should forget the idea right now. Movies just are not made like that anymore, and it just cannot be equaled by modern technology. Pick this horror film up, and you will discover why so many of these type of films were made in that time.

The original eight legged freak takes to the hills
If you know that Leo G. Carroll was over a barrel when tarantula took to the hills but are not sure exactly what that means, then you simply need to add "Tarantula" to the list of classic science fiction monster movies you need to see that are mentioned in "Science Fiction Double Feature" during the opening credits of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." This 1955 film was directed by Jack Arnold who also helmed "It Came From Outer Space," "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," and "The Incredible Shrinking Man." That means that Arnold is taking the story seriously even if the rest of us are not. Yes, it is hard to believe that a giant tarantula three-stories tall is prowling around the desert eating horses and such and nobody notices (ditto for the giant ants in "Them!"), but that it standard suspense for 1950s black & white monster movies. The special effects are good for the most part, although there are a couple of moments where none of its eight legs are touching the ground, but the big complaint is that there is not enough destruction, which is to be expected when you monster is roaming the desert rather than Tokyo.

The starting point for the fun is a couple of scientists who are playing god by trying to perfect a growth serum. Having had success in making a tarantula the size of sheep (which begs the question of why this would ever be seen as a good idea as opposed to say, oh, I don't know, something that could feed starving people?), Professor Deemer (Carroll) tries the serum on himself. The result is not increased size (like being 50 feet tall works if you are a man instead of a woman) but acromegaly, which is an actual disease caused by the overproduction of growth hormones in the body (you have to admire the idea that somebody did some actual scientific research for this film). Consequently, Deemer ends up looking like a cousin to the Elephant Man. The Professor is doomed to die, but not before the tarantula escapes, goes its own way, and continues to grow larger and larger. John Agar is the hero, Dr. Matt Hastings, and Mara Corday is Stephanie "Steve" Clayton, who shows up to study with Professor Deemer, only to discover he has other problems. Yes, "Tarantula" requires you to take a deep breath to provide the requisite willing suspension of disbelief, but come on: we are talking a giant spider movie here and not just any giant spider movie here. This is the original eight legged freak.

Giant spiders!!!
When I first saw this movie, I thought John Agar was a hunk (still do) so when he has to figure out what is killing people and livestock in his small town and save the girl - well - nothing could be better. With the 'mad scientist' and the giant tarantula and all, what more could you want in a plot. So what if the big spider looks fake sometime and the acting is not Harrison Ford. It is still a fun monster movie and I love watching it. I am on my third copy of this one and watch it often enough that I will have to have another one soon. ... Read more

Description

Depicts the gallant exploits of the American Rangers and their leader, Colonel William Darby, as he leads his men through the landing assault on North Africa and the invasion of Italy. Suggested by the book by Major James Altieri. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Birthday Gift
I purchased this video for my dad's 72nd birthday and it would not play correctly. Lines throughout the picture on the screen. We tried it on 3 different TV's to no avail. Unfortunately I bought it on Aug.13th and his birthday was on Sept. 12th and by the time I returned home on the 14th of Sept. it was too late to return it. He had been so looking forward to receiving this video that I am saddened not to be able to provide it to him. He served in the Korean War and enjoys watching war movies. He had looked all over for this movie and I was so happy to find it on Amazon.com. I thought it would be a terrific surprise for him but it was I who was surprised by the video being defective.

Wild Bill Defies Formula
Near the end of his eccentric and notorious career William "Wild Bill" Wellman directed "Darby's Rangers" for Warner Brothers. Despite the studio's budget, which limited the production to formula action-war-adventure status, Wellman used the dialogue to create interesting characterizations from his young contract players. Focusing on James Garner as Darby and the personal lives of his men, on and off the field, Wellman delivered a to the point and appealing film still memorable to anyone who has ever seen it.

Great World War II Film from Wild Bill
"Darby's Rangers" was director William "Wild Bill" Wellman's second from last film. An ace pilot in WW1 "Wild Bill" Wellman went to Hollywood and directed "WINGS," the first film to win an Academy Award. "Darby's Rangers" released in 1958 deals with Major William Darby's formation of a crack ranger outfit. The studio wanted an aging Wellman to turn out another formula war film late in his career but thanks to the charisma that James Garner brings to the role of Major Darby this movie works much better than expected. The movie deals with the Ranger's exploits on and off the field of battle. Cinematographer William Clothier's images are well filmed and stalwart Composer Max Steiner once again gives us that old 'guts and glory' scoring. The good cast includes Jack Warden, Edd Byrnes, Stuart Whitman, Peter Brown, Torin Thatcher, Murray Hamilton and David Janssen.

Great action and adventure based on the WWII truth.
For those of you interested in World War II history, especially as it relates to the training and operations of commando units, this video is a must see. James Garner offers a wonderful portrayal of Major Darby, the founder of the modern-day Rangers. Hollywood fluff is at a minimum in this stirring account of Ranger missions. Sit back and enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Herbie Rides Again is no good.............
This sequel to The Love Bug, lacks a good plot, and an interesting cast. Set five years after the original, this film finds Herbie now sold to an annoying old lady living in a fire house. The fire house is the only building left in the way of Alonzo Hawk's new sky scraper being built. Robert Stevenson enters the plot as Hawk's nephew and goes against his uncle to help save the fire house. This film has nothing to do with the original and loses the formula. I would pass on this movie. However, Dean Jones and Don Knots returned in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo to give the series back it's good name.........

Just a poor re-hash of "The Love Bug"
Like many sequels, the writers of this one were unable to come up with a new plot idea, so they basically re-hashed the original. Ken Berry takes the Dean Jones role, Stephanie Powers takes the Michelle Lee role, the demise of the firehouse replaces the demise of Herbie, etc, etc. Also like many sequels, the result was poor at best. While it had its moments [the parade of Beetles], for the most part, "Herbie Rides Again" seemed to try to hard to be clever...and as a result, fails.

As for the transfer...I couldn't help but notice how "tight" all the scenes with the actors seemed to be...especially the ones inside Herbie. The reason? It appears this movie was filmed in 1.66:1 ratio...and Disney, in its usual infinite wisdom, has trimmed information from the picture to make it fit a 16x9 screen. Geez...even Disney's widescreen movies cut out part of the picture. These guy are just clueless, aren't they?

The sound seemed a little off to me as well, with the music sometimes overwhelming the dialogue.

All that being said, my recommendation is to buy "The Love Bug" [which has an overall excellent transfer, with the exception of one out-of-focus scene in Chinatown], and forget all the sequels.

Not good for little kids
My two year old loves Herbie, so we rented this to give us all a break. Now we are paying for it! The villian in this movie rants, raves, screams, and bosses everyone around conitinuously. Perhaps it is coincidence, but our mild-mannered son has become a mini-version of this tryant. After two weeks, he is finally returning to normal. I would not recommend showing this movie to suggestible children. It is difficult to find live-action, non-violent movies with good role-model characters. Stick with "The Love Bug."

A Disney favorite is back -- this time in widescreen!
Predictable, but fun Disney comedy from the 1970's and the best of the Love Bug sequels. Thanks to Disney Home Video for releasing this film in widescreen. Please release all Disney films in their original theatrical ratios and re-release The Moonspinners, Blackbeard's Ghost, and Babes in Toyland in widescreen.

The Little Car That Could is Back
Alonzo Hawk has made his fortune by destroying old buildings and putting new office buildings and shopping centers in their place. His latest project is to build the world's tallest skyscraper in San Francisco. Unfortunately for him, one widow refuses to sell the little firehouse she's lived in since the day she got married. Even more unfortunately, she's keeping Herbie for her nephew, and Herbie has decided to protect her at all costs. But what can a VW Bug do against a man who will stop at nothing to destroy the firehouse?

This was the first sequel to the huge hit, THE LOVE BUG. Released 6 years after the original, none of the human cast returned. Only the car is around to reprise his roll. Stirring clear of racecar driving completely for this go around, the plot focuses solely on the tug of war over the firehouse. The plot itself is silly, with Herbie doing such things as driving the cable of the Golden Gate Bridge and swimming. Still, if you're in the mood for improbably fun, these movies are your ticket. The cast, lead by Helen Hayes, does a fine job keeping the storyline believable fantasy. And, of course, there's the romantic sub-plot just to add a little more tension.

I was really impressed by the Special Edition treatment that THE LOVE BUG received last year and was hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately, this is a movie only edition. This movie is presented in widescreen and full surround, however. The picture looks sharp with some dust and grain debris showing it's age. It sounds nice as well, although the movie won't give your surround sound a chance to truly shine. Then again, considering when the movie came out, that's not too different from the original source.

Despite the lack of special features, it's nice to have this fun film on DVD. I've been a fan of Herbie for as long as I can remember, and these films will always hold a special place in my heart. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Stands with the Best
Featuring a no-name cast, a ludicrous title, and coming at the height of 50's camp, it's understandable how this little gem got lost in the shuffle. Nevertheless, the story continues to unnerve after all these years, reaching down to deepest fears about ordinary processes gone suddenly awry. Seldom has middle-class complascency been so eerily attacked as when we witness the husband's role and breadwinner's status shrink slowly out of sight amid an Ozzie and Harriet living-room. Cult director Jack Arnold makes the most of a modest budget, deploying the special effects in highly suspenseful fashion. Here the effects mean everything as Robert Scott Carey's descent into ever smaller worlds exposes him to fresh terrors among the commonplace, and it's truly odd to transition from normal surroundings into a subterranean world at the same time the former becomes alien to both him and us. Other sci-fi classics of the period threatened us with external enemies to which the military was an appropriate response. A few threatened internally with a loss of personal identity. This movie, I believe, is the only one to threaten with a loss of significance. It's horrifying to think that physical size is more important to our evaluations than simple humanity. Yet this is what we experience as Carey grows ever smaller and less significant to the normal sized world. We are glad when the wife is finally rid of him. Like Hitchcock, this film confronts us with our own deeper and less desirable emotions.

The battle with the spider is an epic one, showcasing effects that continue to impress, now as then.The central performances are quite good, with Randy Stuart's anguished wife a standout. However, Grant Williams as Carey, deserves special mention. He brings just the right combination of grit and melancholy to a role that demands equal parts of both. Judging from other performances in a brief career, the melancholy came natually to one of the most blandly handsome faces in the business. The scene that lingers for me is of Carey's running through a gantlet of lawn sprays, having learned that the process has started again and knowing that the sprays can soon drown him. Though less well known than other 50's classics such as The Thing or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Arnold's film (minus the rhapsodic ending) is at least their equal and ranks with the very best of any period.

Sci-Fi Classic
When I was about to see this first time around I thaught it would be childish and a little boring but how wrong I was.

This movie's about a buisness man who gets shrunk by a mysterious radioactive myst. Everyday he gets smaller and smaller and his relationship with his family goes on the rocks and finds everyday household objects a struggle. Firstly it's just embrasment of walking down the street and then it turns much worse from his cat to a spider.

At the start it's a little boring as not a lot happens, but it starts to get really intresting when he gets chased by his cat into the celler.

The special effects are stunning for its era and the storyline gets you involved.

A part where the effects really shine is when there's a flood in the celler and Scotts brother and his wife come downstairs. They persume Scotts dead. Scott trys to get his brothers attention when he comes downstairs. He almost steps on his own brother in the process and the scale between the shoe and Scott's pretty stunning.

If you can see this film, do. It's well worth watching especially the later half

Gripping Journey Into A Frightening Oversized World
"The Incredible Shrinking Man", is one of the great Sci Fi movie titles from the 1950's thats not as well remembered as other landmark efforts of that time like "The Thing From Another World". That is unfortunate as here we have a really ground breaking effort that not only boasts stunning special effects, but also restrained performances and an interesting premise that is handled with integrity by director and cast. The film of course will always be talked about for the innovative and at times quite frightening process by which the main character shrinks away to practically nothing. Equally amazing in my mind after a viewing of "The Incredible Shrinking Man", is how this film gives us a view of the "normal", everyday world suddenly becoming a dangerous and potentially lethal environment where everyday things like the family pet or a spider in the basement take on life threatening personas.

The story starts out innocently enough with young couple Scott and Louise Carey (Grant Williams and Randy Stuart), who are spending some time on Scott's brother's boat. While Louise is below getting some refreshments Scott notices a strange mist approaching the boat and before he can take cover it envelopes the whole boat and he is covered in a strange glittery substance. It is just passed off as some unexplained happening and then the story jumps ahead six months to when strange developments start to occur. One morning Scott notices that his shirt seems too big for him and blames it on the cleaners. However it is not long before many other strange things begin to happen that arouse real fears in him. Going to his local doctor (William Schallert), Scott gets a clean bill of health and Louise feels that it is simply a lack of proper diet that is effecting her husband. To be sure however Scott is referred to a specialist Dr. Silver (Raymond Bailey), who gauges that Scott is actually loosing height over a number of weeks of examination and tests. The source of this strange occurance is narrowed down to the now forgotten glittery mist on the boat which further testing reveals to be some sort of radioactive body that causes the body to shrink. Dr. Silver injects Scott with a serum that will hopefully stop the shrinking process. Meanwhile the media have latched onto the newsworthy story of the "incredible shrinking man" and Scott and Louise become prisoners in their own home as curious busybodies begin making their life a misery. Scott is replaced in his employment which makes it dificult to live and causes further friction between he and Louise. Soon Scott's shrinking begins again and he experiences a rapid and terrifying drop in size. Back at the house Scott is reduced to living in a doll's house and one day when Louise by mistake leaves the door open and the family cat gets inside a new nightmare begins as Scott is hunted by the now "Giant", cat and after falling into the cellar having to face terrors like a hungry "Giant Spider". Everything in Scott's existence now holds unknown terrors and after Louise believes that Scott has been eaten by the cat he is now all alone with no assistance from anyone. After facing all of these terrors in his own home Scott does make his escape and now too small to be detected by any human beings begins a new existence where survival is his sole aim.

The story of "The Incredible Shrinking Man", may read like your usual sensationalist 1950's science fiction however it is far from that. It presents a quite thought provoking idea that we could all possibly imagine ourselves in. Noticeably absent in this film are the usual 1950's invading aliens or oversized creatures. Instead here the really frightening elements in the story are the simple household features that we encounter everyday like the family cat, a stray spider in the room or a leak in a water heater. Because of the shrinking of the main character these elements take on quite terrifying proportions. Director Jack Arnold wisely stays away from the more sensational potential of this story and in his direction even makes the scene where Scott's wedding ring rolls off his finger a seemingly frightening occurence. The performances here are first class and Grant Williams does a sterling job as the young husband who finds himself fighting for survival in his own home. His fear mixed with developing personal strength intent on survival makes for a great performance. Randy Stuart as wife Louise also deserves special mention as she delivers a well thought out performance as the first disbelieving wife who has to take over the leader role in the household as her husband literally shrinks before her eyes. The cast also features supporting performances from future comedy series regulars in Raymond Bailey and William Schallert who will always be rembered for their work in "The Beverly Hillbillies", and "The Patty Duke Show", respectively. "The Incredible Shrinking Man", contains many memorable scenes that boast special effects achievements that even today still cause amazement. Foremost among them of course are Scott's ongoing battle with the ferocious spider in the celler and his terrifying flight from the clutches of the family cat which is now 10 times his size. Those scenes present images that have rightly gone down into Science Fiction folklore.

Despite the films almost surreal ending which plays almost like a sermon delivered by Grant Williams the rest of the film dates amazing well despite the passage of over 47 years. Even the introduction of computer technology to achieve incredible special effects in my belief has not dulled the sheer genius evident throughtout this gripping sci fi tale. It certainly is one of my favourites of these efforts in the 1950's and deserves to be better remembered. For a thrilling piece of sci fi action from the golden era of these movies in the 1950's you can't get better than Jack Arnold's "The Incredible Shrinking Man".

THE GREATEST SCI-FI/FANTASY FILM OF ALL TIME!!
THIS MOVIE IS VERY IMPRESSIVE IN THE SPECIAL EFFECTS DEPARTMENT, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT IT WAS RELEASED IN 1957!!
FROM LOOKING AT THIS MOVIE, YOU'D NEVER THINK THAT IT'S THAT OLD!!
IT HAS AN OLD-MOVIE QUALITY TO IT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IN TODAY'S SOCIETY, MOVIES LIKE THIS DON'T EXIST ANYMORE!!
THE ACTING IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE AND THE BELIEVABILITY FACTOR IS QUITE CONVINCING.
IT IS A FANTASY FILM, HOWEVER DUE TO THE GREAT ACTING AND FANTSTIC EFFECTS AND SETS, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BELIEVE WHAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.
THIS IS MOST DEFINETELY THE GREATEST SCI-FI/FANTASY FILM OF THE 50'S AND 60'S BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT IS SO MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE THAN IT'S COMPETITION!!
SEE THIS CLASSIC AS SOON AS YOU CAN!! ENJOY!!

HONEY THEY SHRUNK YOUR MAN .
If you ever applied for an overdraft, you'll know how THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN feels . The poor guy only wants some sun and sugar , alone with his honey ,out at sea . When he gets sprayed with a strange mist , plus a letter with a key informing him that he's in line for a large cash amount, if he buys a toaster . Back home he starts to notice suttle differences in him self . His shirts are too big , his slippers fall off his feet , he can no longer reach his secret magazines on top of the wardrobe . At first he puts it all down to a head cold , but when he has to wear high heals ( and he's not at the club ] to kiss his wife . He decides to see the doc . At first the non addictive antidepressants appear to do the trick , but unfortunately its a brief respite , and all too soon he's falling down the pot again . His shrinking continues until he is forced to move in with a plastic doll , this is fine until her G I JOE boyfriend ,beats the tar out of him .Later he is attacked by a cat , a spider ,and a very nasty letter from the electric company . Smaller and smaller until he as no alternative , but to wander in the great unknown . Earth, space , cleathorps ? who knows . ... Read more

Description

Gone With The Wind star Clark Gable flexes his muscular charms in another Civil War-era movie about the torrid romance between a plantation owner and a half-caste beauty. Year: 1957 Director: Raoul Walsh Starring:Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, Sidney Poitier ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Another outstanding performance by Clark Gable
I don't get bored of watching this movie. Clark Gable delivers a wonderful performance as he always did. This is a must see for people who enjoy love stories.

Classic Masterpiece
This wonderful American Civil War drama stars as Samantha, Yvonne De Carlo as a sultry southern belle, who is hiding the secret of her Black ancestry. Clark Gable plays Hamish Bond, the swashbuckling landowner, who, despite her various suitors, is the only man who Samantha ever loved.
After the end war and the occupation of the South by the Union troops, Bond must flee for his life from the vengeful northerners. It is up to a former slave,, now a Union Sergeant (Sydney Poitier) to decide how the drama will play itself out.
While Bond was good to him, and gave him an education and all that enabled him to advance, his heart is still bitter at the experience of knowing he was a slave.
The movie gives a good account of the brutality of both slavery, and the rape of the South by Union forces after the Civil War. We see the routine violation of Southern women by the occupying Northern soldiers.
Made in 1957, this movie is one of the classic masterpieces.

I don't understand why this film isn't better known
Band of Angels is a very well-written screenplay about the oddities of race in America. I would have to compare it with "To Kill a Mockingbird" only I think Band of Angels is more thought provoking.

The plot involves a pre-Civil War Southern belle (whose father has sent her to school in the north which should give you a hint) who returns to Kentucky when her father falls ill. She arrives to see him being buried, and immediately afterwards hears first that her father was bankrupt and all the slaves will be sold and then that she herself is the child of a slave woman and therefore she too will be sold. It seems her father had an affair with a mulatto slave and raised the child as if the mother had been white and married to him. He has (somewhat unbelievably) concealed this from his child, who doesn't understand why her mother is buried outside the family cemetery. Our beautifully-dressed belle ends up being literally sold down the river -- she leaves pleasant Kentucky to be sold on a New Orleans auction block. (The further south you got, the worse conditions were: the other slaves are probably going to end up on a mosquito-infested sugar cane plantation and face a much worse fate than she does, but the movie fails to make this point). It's an eye-opener how particularly shocking the slave auction is when an apparently white woman is being auctioned -- which gives a lot of insight into subliminal racism.

Although a bit dated at parts (the music at the beginning, for example, and the scenes with the slaves singing like a choir), this is a very thought-provoking and yet entertaining movie. I highly recommend it.

A Film Ahead of Its Time
It would be interesting to know how audiences reacted to this movie when it was first released in 1957. I never knew that African slaves got packed into ships like sardines until I saw the miniseries "Roots," yet in this movie Clark Gable reveals the shameful story of how Africans were captured (sometimes with the help of other Africans) and packed into slave ships, and how cruelly they suffered. It is like seeing the other side of Rhett Butler, a very dark side. I don't consider this movie to be so much a romantic story as it is a story about forgiveness and the hope of a new and better era. I never knew that Sidney Poitier and Clark Gable had been in a film together, and it is a treat to see two such great actors confronting each other. Poitier plays his character superbly--he is rightfully impatient for freedom and justice, yet he knows he has to watch his step or else he will be crushed. "Gone with the Wind" seems very shallow compared to this movie.

STAR SYSTEM IN ACTION
This movie is a classic example of big contract stars struttung their routine stuff. Probably most of its budget went on casting Clark Gable; it is his presence that would've compelled the movie audience to go see it. To give it a decent rating would be like rating a local TV new bulletin. It's not good, it's not bad; it does its job. BAND OF ANGELS kept more innocent moviegoing audiences of its day sufficiently enthralled to make it a success. For those reasons- and its color and technical proficiency- it is a historical record of Hollywood dishing 1950 punters, and Gable fans, with what they thought wanted to see that week. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

fantastic drama, a tour-de-force by Hayward
I WANT TO LIVE is a stunning film starring the amazing Susan Hayward in her Oscar-winning triumph. Director Robert Wise (THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE SAND PEBBLES, STAR!) gives us an unforgettable film noir classic.

The film tells the true story of convicted murderess Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward - TAP ROOTS, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) who was sentenced to the gas chamber for her part in the robbery and murder of an elderly lady. Professing her innocence right up to the end, Barbara is a sly, sardonic but always-likable woman who wins the heart of the audience. Hayward's tour-de-force performance as Graham is vastly rewarding. Her multi-faceted portrayal of Graham is truly amazing.

Highly recommended.

The DVD includes the trailer.

Excellent fare written to showcase the lovely Miss Hayward
Susan Hayward was one of the best actresses ever. I just love to watch her. The only real talent to come after her was Faye Dunaway. Anyway, "I Want to Live!" was Hollywood's scathing indictment of the death penalty and is the film for which Susan Hayward is best remembered. It is her Oscar-winning performance. Frankly, I liked her a lot better in "I'll Cry Tomorrow" "Smash Up: The Story of a Woman" and "With a Song in My Heart." I thought she was much better in those, but the Oscar had eluded her, so they wrote this screenplay full of plenty of dramatic scenes to get her the Oscar she rightfully deserved. It worked.

The dialog and plot are excellent and her scenes as the condemned woman hours from execution are still extremely powerful today. In some ways, Susan Hayward was at her very best, and with the perfect script, a rare combination. You still sit there rooting for her to get that stay of execution in the movie, the movie grabs you that much. I've watched this film about 10 times, she never gets the stay, but the situations are so real, you root for one every time.

The only thing that to me does not make this Miss Hayward's best role (apart from maybe a handful of scenes) is that Barbara Graham, the real-life death-row inmate portrayed here, was a low-budget, crude, herion addict who got along by using men, doing petty thefts and sometimes being a prostitute, and I don't mean the $100 an hour ones that come to your hotel room. We're talking low-class street woman. Miss Hayward is nothing of the kind, she doesn't have that look or manner. Though the prison and death penalty scenes and themes are excellently and realistically portrayed here, you feel like you're watching a wrongfully-convicted society woman, nun, or school teacher getting the gas chamber, not a two-bit street prostitute/heroine junkie/thief. I don't think this necessarily takes away from the movie much or how it grips you, but for this reason, I'm not sure I would rate this the best of Susan Hayward. The Oscar was righting previous wrongs, in my opinion.

I highly recommend this film, and if you like it, try some of Susan Hayward's other films. She was really outstanding!

The film that changed my attitude!
I feel that many cold-blooded criminals that're in jail probably deserve the death penalty, but when we can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they actually did the crime, then it's time to admit a mistake & let the falsely accused go free! This is a prime example of criminal justice gone wrong. The heartbreaking true story of Barbara Graham, who was wrongfully executed for a grisly murder she didn't commit. I knew the story before watching this, yet up to the very end I kept on hoping that Barbara, brilliantly played by Susan Hayward, would be granted another trial to prove her innocence. The tension is almost as unbearable for the viewer as it is for poor Barbara as she counts the hours & finally minutes before her execution. I'll admit, early in the movie it's difficult to sympathize with someone so amoral, but by the time she's pleading for her life we all feel terrible about her situation. I haven't seen many of Susan Hayward's movies, but her performance in this (which won her an oscar) is equal to anything Bette Davis or Joan Crawford ever did (& that's saying a lot!). If you're looking for a great Susan Hayward film, you've found it! This powerful film convinced me that the death penalty is not the best way to deal out justice. Consider Charles Manson: Now of course he deserves to die, but don't you also think he deserves to rot in jail the rest of his life? Whatever your current opinion about the death penalty, I gurantee this movie will make you think twice!

Hayward Masterpiece!
Maybe I'm a bit partial, being an avid Susan Hayward fan, but "I Want to Live!" must rank as the perfect example of how to meld great story and super talent. Susan rightfully deserved her Oscar for her portrayal of Barbara Graham, a woman convicted and executed for a murder she denied to the end. All the key element of sophisticated film making come together to make this a treasure. They don't make them like this any more.

I WANT AN OSCAR!...
A memorable film from the 50's based allegedly on the true story of a woman named Barbara Graham who went to the gas chamber for a murder she swore she didn't commit. As played by Susan Hayward (who won an Oscar), Graham is a party girl and sometime thief/prostitute involved with some very shady small time crooks. An old woman is robbed and killed in the process and the crooks let Graham take the rap. Graham is also the mother of a small child---an angle played up in the press as she waves her son's toy tiger at the cameras. What sticks in your mind, though, are the scenes where she's back and forth from her death row cell to the gas chamber as she waits anxiously for a stay from the governor. These scenes are nerve-racking and make me cry when I watch this movie. Hayward is vivid and believable in these scenes as she is throughout the movie. I recommend this film for people who like watching stellar performances in off-beat films. A fine b&w case study of crime, psychodrama and powerful acting. Don't pass this one up. ... Read more

Reviews (230)

Hitchcock's Masterful Tale of Neurosis and Obsession
Vertigo brilliantly and hypnotically displays many of Hitchcock's famous themes: the ordinary man caught up in a world of intrigue beyond his control (Scotty), the icy, mysterious blonde (Madeline), the smothering maternal figure (Midge), the obsession with the past, and the blurring of the line between illusion and reality. All of the aforementioned elements are enhanced by Bernard Hermann's passionate, romantic music, and combine to make this film one of Hitchcock's most complex, most richly rewarding films.

In "Vertigo," the characters and the viewing audience rarely know what is real and what is illusion. Many of the scenes in the film have a hazy, dreamlike quality: Madeline disappears behind and re-emerges from the Sequoia trees; Madeline steps out of the hazy, hotel light after her transformation as if she is a ghost reappearing from the past. Hitchcock brilliantly uses light, shadow and music to create a dizzingly uncertain atmosphere, forcing the audience to question what is really happening in the scene.

Scotty's obsession with the past and his desire to transform the charater "Judy" into his former love "Madeline" brings up an intriguing question. To what lengths will people go to change themselves to please the one they love? How much of their identities are they willing to give up for love? Madeline poignantly says to Scotty after he has asked her to change one thing after another about herself, "If I let you change me, then will you love me?"

"Vertigo" is a brilliant director working out his neurosis and obsessions through cinema. Luckily for the audience, the director is Hitchcock, and the film he has created is a fascinating, haunting masterpiece.

Absolutely the best film Hitchcock ever made
Everybody's got a favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie. Mine is VERTIGO. Everything about this movie is more than perfect. The performances from Kim Novak, James Stewart and Barbara Bel Geddes- beyond Oscar quality. The film is a masterpiece. There are multiple themes that are repeated throughout the movie, which make it subject to many repeated viewings. I've seen it many times, and I could see it all the time. Every time I see it, I find out something new. When you see John "Scottie" Fergeson going over the top, you'll have a hard time believing that it's Jimmy Stewart up on screen. Kim Novak is a beautiful, shimmering brilliance in her two- actually THREE roles (Madeline, Carlotta Valdes, Judy). And I found it hard not to sympathize with Barbara Bel Gedde's Midge. Alfred Hitchcock's meticulous direction pays off more than ever. The ending delievered such an emotional, psychological shock that I couldn't stop thinking about it. My advice to you: stop reading, go out and see VERTIGO. You won't regret it.

The very first shot is the best.
I watched Vertigo for the first time when I was about 12 years old - I remember I couldn't sleep well afterwards. I guess I was a little too young at the time to fully appreciate its scope. Watched it now again in its restored form on DVD.

In my opinion the best moment in the movie is the very first shot of the woman's mouth and face and her eyes - the look in her eyes - all in black and white - and then the introduction of colour - the spirals etc., and the ingeneous score. The score is incredible. Very efficient. It really gives the whole thing a dreamlike quality.

Generally, I don't like dark haunting movies too much. And Vertigo is haunting.
Most of the other Hitchcock movies have a kind of upbeat humour - an optimistic atmosphere. Take Psycho, for example. Yes, people get killed - but in a strange, almost perverse way the movie is almost funny. And, of course, there is a satisfying conclusion, a happy end. Not so in Vertigo.

Note that Hitchcock returned in subsequent movies - North by Northwest, Frenzy, Family Plot ...to his characteristic dark humour. That's why I think that Vertigo - while it deals with themes also present in his other movies - is something of an exception : there is no happy end and there is no relief for the audience.

Most of Hitchcock's movies deal with horrible things - like murder, the innocent being wrongfully accused and hunted by society, malice and intrigue,.. - but he always balances this with this typical British dark humour which in a way protects the audience and helps it to digest the on-screen violence. So this dark humour, this distancing of the audience, fulfills a very important function. For instance, after the shower scene in Psycho, we witness Norman Bates clean up the bathroom.
The same kind of dark humour - not quite as dark - can be found in some of the James Bond movies. Its always about helping the audience to accept what has just happened.

In Vertigo, this dark humour is missing and this accounts for its dark haunting quality.

Again, I am not much of a fan of obssesive love and all that - and probably neither
are most other people - and certainly Vertigo is not as much fun to watch as, say North by Northwest, but the score and the use of colours in it alone are worthy of our attention.

Darkest Hitchcock
"Vertigo" is a disturbing tour de force. You would probably have to roll forward to David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive" is find comparable weirdness. Is it Hitchcock's best? That's a tough question. Personally, I think "Notorious" is a better film, because the story fits easier into expectations of what a story should be, while at the same time being very edgey in matters of men and women, sex and love, and intrigue that blurs the lines. Everything about "Notorious" is balanced. But "Vertigo" takes chances few directors are willing to attempt, and that has to be recognized - especially when it involves a director with the abilities and genius of a Hitchcock. With that in mind, "Vertigo" is the important film, necessary if you want to fully understand Hitchcock.

"Vertigo" is about obsession. Ex-detective John Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) is following the wife of an old friend, who fears his wife is losing her mind. It's a deadly scam, but you know that. The real story is Ferguson's descent. Stewart is excellent and increasingly strange as the movie progresses. Novak also works, but in a way she strikes the viewer as a deliberately coarser version of the Hitchcock "blondes." I don't pretend to be a Hitchcock specialist, but I've been spending this summer going through the major Hitchcock films, and I've noticed a few things that have me wondering over Hitchcock's creative arc in general. Blondes, yep. But look at the role of mothers. "Strangers on a Train" has psycho killer Walker's mother as a babying influence, and "Vertigo" has former Stewart girlfriend, played by Barbara Bel Geddes, visiting Stewart/Ferguson, and telling him "mother" is there for him. And check out the Nazi mother to mama's boy Claude Rains in "Notorious." The capper is of course the "mother" of Norman Bates in that movie explosion called "Psycho." What was it with Hitchcock and mothers? Also note that the swirl imagery of "Vertigo" reappears in the swirling drain of "Psycho."

"Vertigo" is a much more free-floating effort, and deserves all the praise. Narrative structure is allowed to slacken, and interior pathologies allowed to take priority, all amazing terrain for a director to explore - and to be allowed to explore by the dollar driven studios. The logic of the "story" is in fact is so suspended, that the fact that there is a murder and a murderer become secondary - they are merely triggers. Oh, Stewart/Ferguson eventually remembers he's a cop, but the difference in "Vertigo," which sets it apart from even "Psycho," is that it doesn't matter and darkness falls. And with it a final madness?

NOT his best! Why is everyone raving about this movie??
It's good, not great. The storyline is just too basic. Nothing really grabbed my attention. As far as the directing aspect of it, it may be one of his best. But also this may be his most boring film. It was a flop at the box-office. I'd like to know why it's considered his masterpiece. Am I missing something? This movie has little intrigue in comparison to his other films.

"North By Northwest" was by far his best.
"Rear Window" was great.
"The Birds" was very exciting to watch and was a great feat in film-making for its time with all those birds.
"Lifeboat" was good too.
"Psycho" would have been much better if I saw it for the first time without knowing what was going to happen.
"Dial M For Murder" has a great storyline with intrigue.

But as for "Vertigo", ehh.... not as good in comparison. It will be very good if it is your first Hitchcock movie to watch. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Excellent oldie.....
A view FROM THE TERRACE is what Paul Newman's character David Alfred Eaton has of his future wife Mary (JoAnne Woodward). The screen play was based on a best-selling novel of the same name by John O'Hara. Given it was released in the 1950s when sex on the screen was verboten and not much more explicit in novels (ban a book in Boston), one must appreciate the work it took for Newman and Woodward to give these performances.

Like many other teenagers of my generation, I was "in love" with Paul Newman. Newman could make female hearts flutter by simply looking at the camera with his big blue eyes. Many other teens preferred Marlon Brando, his peer and rival for female affection. I believe these two actors were the Leonardo de Caprio and Brad Pitt of their day, although in the long run, Newman (like de Caprio) has had more staying power and gracefully made the transition to mature roles.

In the 1950s, to see a film one had to attend a theater, where the screen was usually covered with a huge velvet curtain. FTT played at the Center theater in my small town, and I saw the film six times after it was released. I was able to get into the theater for a quarter, and as my allowance was $3, this was no small sacrifice. So, you might say this film was one of my all time favorites.

Watching it again almost 50 years later, I wondered how I would react, and of course the passage of time and arrival of many other actors and vast changes in filmmaking have affected the way I view the film and Newman, but I still like him enormously, and this film holds it's own, though the storyline may seem archaic.

This film is about infidelity and divorce and the price of success, a story line that may be lost on generations raised in an age of no-fault divorces and dual earner households. Once upon a time, divorce and infidelity were considered absolutely scandalous, and financially disastrous. In fact, if you divorced, your life was ruined. Many couples stayed together and suffered the ignominy of a cheating spouse. FTT was a ground-breaking film because it tackled these issues head-on.

The DVD version of the film is well done, and the price reasonable (technicolor and cinemascope production). Do your self a favorite, buy this DVD and add it to the shelf where you keep CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and other 50's favorites.

I absolutely adore this movie
I saw this movie for at least the third time today and I told myself: go ahead and get this on DVD because you watch it every time it comes on TV. Well, I just simply must have it near me. I love the "how do you like them apples" part in the movie. What a move! I love every minute of this movie. It is like a short story! I love the dialogue! Watch it people!

My View From The Sofa
Paul Newman has many more famous roles...but for some reason, this is one of my all time favorite movies of his. It comes on the Love Stories, AMC, or TCM cable channels every here and now...or you could just buy it like I did.

He's nice, determined, well-meaning Alfred Eaton, who starts off with lofty, wealthy ideas about what is important in life...the right woman, the right career, the right friends...and showing them all how important he can be when he has them. Ultimately, he learns that what is important is only what feels right to him alone.

I love his story of personal discovery as much as his love affair story with Natalie. Alfred and Natalie have this beautiful scene where they are saying goodbye, they're barely touching, but it's the most painfully romantic thing to see.

Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward have some excellent scenes in this movie also with real good comeback dialogue. He's the hardworking, decent man and she's the desperate-to-impress and just plain desperate society wife. She self-righteously and hurtfully accuses him of adultery with a girl with no guts when she's been sleeping with her ex-fiancee all along. She actually calls her lover and arranges a tryst while her husband is in the room!!!! She has guts!!!! (if little else) Unbeknownst to her, Alfred has exhaustingly if unaffectedly (if you can look unaffected and disgusted at the same time, that is) done his best to makes her invisible in the room, but she probably just becomes invisible without any real effort on his part to make her so by that point. Their voices just have the most impactful tones...especially when they get to play off of each other. I can play their final scene over and over again where she says she won't give him a divorce and he says,"Any further communication between you and me will be through legal channels." He has the most genuine smile on that handsome face in that moment than through the entire movie!!!!!

This movie is actually pretty long, but not a moment is wasted. It all comes together in the end when Alfred finally chooses what he actually wants instead of what he's supposed to want.

Maybe it's because it's so subtle and not at all like a "movie" that it seems to be largely overlooked by everyone except me and 20 other people. Paul Newman is one fine, naturally classy actor, I say.

Unfaithfully Yours
Every few years, I sit back and enjoy "From the Terrace" for what it is. As good old fashioned "potboiler", John O Hara's screen adaptation is not quite as sprawling as say....Edna Ferber's works, but nonetheless is a decent potboiler in its own right. Alfred (Paul Newman), discharged from the Navy after WW II is the ambitious, disaffected son of nouveau riche steel mill owner Samuel Eaton, (Leon Ames). Seeking to make his own unique mark in the world he spurns his father's hopes of joining the business and decides his fortune is to be made elsewhere. Along the way, he meets his future blue-blooded trophy wife Mary St. John (Joanne Woodward) and soon discovers her appetites are far in excess even to his own ambitions. Landing a job at a prestigious Wall Street firm in an oblique way that is a potboiler's trademark, Alfred comes under the watchful eye of old money and traditional expectations by J.D. MacHardie (masterfully portrayed by Felix Aylmer). I very much enjoyed all the scenes in which Aylmer's MacHardie was highlighted and I can almost smell the stodginess of old money, ritual table manners, wood paneled walls, cigars, and brandy that were part of his ultra-conservative environment. Soon enough, while on a trip to scout business opportunities, Alfred meets Natalie (Ina Balin), the unattached daughter of a wealthy coal mine owner. Knowing full well of his marital status, she consents, even encourages his attention and unfaithfulness. Balin manages to pull this off with a naive sweetness without ever seeming cheap or trashy. Infidelity is a major theme in this work and I'm sure its frank discussion must have sparked many a controversy when this film was released very early in 1960. Veteran actress Myrna Loy was given near top billing as Alfred's alcoholic and unfaithful mother, yet her on-screen performance was limited to the first reel of this nearly 2 1/2 hour film. I enjoyed the brief on screen appearance of young Barbara Eden as a flirtatious socialite. Patrick O'Neal was perfectly cast as the smarmy Dr. Jim Roper, the illicit lover of Mary St. John. Over his long acting career, Paul Newman has delivered solid performances again and again. This is one of his lesser known works but serves as a fine example of why he was so popular with the audience as a silver screen heartthrob. Watching this film today and being mindful of his lasting marriage to Joanne Woodward just serves to make this movie all the more compelling to me. I hope you will agree.

A view of the male in society.
Based on John O'Hara's novel, Alfred Eaton wants success in his own right but also seeks happiness for himself. He ventures out to New York leaving behind his cold, unloving father and alcoholic mother. As he is settled, he meets Mary St. John at a party in Southhampton. She is engaged to a psychiatrist Jim Roper. She rebuffs him at first but laters falls in love with him, calling off her engagement to her fiance. The two marry. However, their marriage is on the rocks. As Alfred gains success and social status, Mary feels isolated from his affection and has sexual affairs outside of the marriage. A business venture in rural Pennsylvania force him to confront his past and his future. Having dinner at the Benzinger home, he falls in love with the daughter Natalie. Strikingly beautiful and raven-haired, she is the one who understands him and is affectionate towards him.
Alfred Eaton, is relatively like most men. They want to gain recognition and respect from the social and economical community and at the same time, be happy with themselves. However, success doesn't always bring happiness. Happiness comes from within. Eaton's lack of affection from his father caused him to seek happiness elsewhere but he was forced to make hard decisions that would not only affect his career, but himself. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Mold for the Untouchables.
This film, arguably, set the mold for the famous TV series The Untouchables, it was released only one year before the series was launched so the connection is obvious.
Rod Steiger stages Al Capone brilliantly, he gives the character an incredible ruthlessness, without overacting his part.
The film is presented almost as a documentary one. An impeccable black & white photography creates a very special climate. The epoch reconstruction is great and accurate, the cars, the clothing, the machine guns, every detail is taken into account.
The cast is very compact with Martin Balsam as Mac Keeley, a corrupt reporter; Nehemiah Persoff as Johnny Torrio, the gang leader immediately preceding Al Capone, and Robert Gist as the Irish ring leader Dion O'Banion in high performances.
The story line follows the rise of Capone from his start as an ordinary "gang soldier" to Chicago's Big Boss and then to his sudden decline and imprisonment.
The movie shows all the backstage of political corruption and different gangs competing to take control of one of the biggest cities of USA. There are some very violent scenes as The Saint Valentine's Massacre and other showdowns among the gangsters.
The director Richard Wilson tells the story masterfully, giving a very crisp tempo to all the film, specially the action sequences.
The time elapsed since the release of the movie (1959) do not affect the product in any way. Very commendable for the lovers of the genre.
Total duration 104 minutes.

Great film!
I've reviewed that documentary about AL CAPONE and I found that this was a very interesting one giving a great overview of Al Capones story with interesting interviews as well! Great to see!

average
This video had the great makings of an Al Capone documentary,but alas seems to have fallen short of the mark.Many things were omitted such as Al's top killers Anselmi and Scalise along with Jack Mcgurn.Excellent top Capone historians used on this program such as Mr. Binder,Mr.Matt Luzi and Mr.William Balsamo probably had no say whatsoever in the accuracy of the timelines cause some of them were way out there! They mention Al Capone being in Alcatraz when prohibition is repealed?Duh? Al entered Alcatraz in 1934 and prohibition was repealed in 1933.They also mention Torrio being hit and retiring after Hymie Weiss is killed.Wrong! Hymie was on the hit against Torrio in 1925.Hymie was killed in 1926.This video might fly by the average Joe Lunchpail and Sally Housecoat who have no inkling about Capone,but it just doesn't cut it knowledge wise.A good Capone documentary to see is called Al Capone Chicago's Scarface(Narrated by Geraldo).Another good one is by A&E called Al Capone "Scarface".Again,this is my personal opinion and your entitled to make your own mistakes.I speak from living and breathing Al Capone as my hobby for the past thirteen years.

Al Capone: The Untouchable Legend
This video is more like a home movie than a serious documentary. There was not enough pictures and information of Al Capone or the era in which he lived. On the other hand there was much too many pictures and inserts of the film makers friends , family, and stuff unrecognizable to most viewers. A big disappointment. The other review must be from friends or family to incourage the films makers, but you do an injustice to them and the general public. Certainly these reviews are to incourage buyers, not make them leary of their purchases.

Best Bio on Capone
This is a tremendous biography; it tells the story of the legendary gangster better than any other Capone bio I've seen. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of the Greatest W