Reviews (2)

Delightfully Cute
Jimmy Stewart & Barbara Hale keeps the plot moving. I really enjoyed watching it. Natalie Wood was kind of "dorky", but her little brother "Tommy" was a better actor. The overall movie is "delightfully cute". Barbara Hale shows her "versatility" for acting.

Radio game show winnings turn life upside-down.
One of Jimmy Stewart's most overlooked films. This picture is pure 1950's. Stewart is an overworked family man, (Similar to his role in Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation, but The Jackpot is a much better picture.) who wins a radio game show. Prizes range from the useful to the absurd. Everything is fine until he finds out he's got to pay taxes on all of his loot. Probably as much pure fun as any Jimmy Stewart picture. ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of the first of the big disaster films, this stodgy Hollywood product lumbers and creaks as it tries to sort out the various plot threads of Arthur Hailey's doorstop of a novel. Set at (what else?) a busy metropolitan airport, it details what happens one eventful night when, among other things, a huge blizzard threatens to disrupt air traffic for the airport manager (Burt Lancaster) even as a suicidal bomber (Van Heflin) heads into the air with mayhem on his mind. There's also an impish old lady (Helen Hayes, who won an Oscar for this role) who specializes in sneaking aboard airliners, and the married pilot (Dean Martin) is having an affair with a stewardess (Jacqueline Bisset). An old-fashioned movie that inspired a bunch of sequels, the Airplane spoofs, and a host of other disaster films. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (50)

The Widescreen version on DVD was worth the wait!
This movie is based on the first novel I read in high school. The book was both engaging and suspenseful and the film brings it to life on the screen (right down to verbatim dialog from the book). When I saw this film in the theater the first time I was blown away.

Veteran film makers Ross Hunter and George Seaton gather an excellent cast and crew to do justice to the book (material not used in this film was developed to make Airport '75). It's no wonder the film, though panned by critics of its time, garnered 10 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture (Helen Hayes received the Best Supporting Actress award)!

This is a must film for those who are fans of its genre. A 30 year anniversary documentary of the film would still have been an appropriate tribute to honor all those involved with its making (many are no longer with us). Remastering it digitally in its original widescreen presentation is quite an improvement!...

This is where it all began
There have been a few disasters and monsters before this movie. However this is the one credited as the beginning of the airplay disaster movies. These have included some sequels and even the "Air Plane" spoofs.
It is fun to look back at the different actors and remember or see them for the first time in a younger body.
The film has several overlapping and intertwining stories; some of the stories seem like soap operas.
A few mentionable scenarios are Mel Bakersfield (Burt Lancaster); airport manager is accused of placing his work before his family. He gets berated in the middle of a crisis by his probably to be ex-wife Cindy Bakersfeld (Dana Winter). Does he also get distracted by his beautiful and efficient assistant? Throw in a pilot playboy, Capt. Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin) that is forced to evaluate fatherhood. For comic relief we have Ada Quonsett a geriatric stowaway. Then for the drama there is someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain if the plane mysteriously does not reach its destination; the man with an attaché case D. O. Guerrero (Van Heflin.)
I am not going to go through the whole story it is for fun if you get to speculate on what is going to happen. How ever I must say one of my favorite characters is Joe Patroni (George Kennedy) operations chief that is tasked with clearing the runway of a stuck 707. See him again as the corrupt lawyer, Uncle Andrew, in Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile."

Airport
The movie Was Well Made.ive seen this more than 20 times.The cast was great.I liked Helen Hayes she was funny.

good but not great
One of those All-Star production during the seventies.
Much better than the following Airport-Films.
A sentimental Oscar for Helen Hayes,she was really a great actress,but her performance was only solide and not outstanding.
Maureen Stapleton gives the best and greatest performance in this
film,her role was small but but most interesting.The Academy Award had should goes to her.Fine Turns by Lancaster and Martin.

Still a Thrill
Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin star in this film about life and work around an airport for the employees and passengers. It is a mix of suspense and drama, of the sort that is still a thrill today, and while airports were safer during this time, the film exposes the caps that were apparent even then.

Dean Martin's performance is especially memorable, as it is very different from his work with Jerry Lewis or parts thereafter (no singing). However, in the form of a brainy teener there is still something of a Jerry Lewis-type-character for the man of "That's Amore" to contend with. A film that will entertain and intrigue! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

"Jolson Story II": script only OK but Parks better than ever
"Jolson Sings Again" picks up where "The Jolson Story" left off and takes the singing star into the 1940s, when he finds himself in professional decline until his movie biography comes out. Because this sequel covers far less territory than the original, "Jolson Sings Again" lacks the stature and story values of the earlier picture. But in many ways it's even more fun to watch.

By this time Larry Parks, already impressive in "The Jolson Story," was in full command of the role. Parks is often very amusing and inventive here, adding little bits of business to his performance. As for his song scenes, this writer submits "Sonny Boy" for special praise. Parks is letter-perfect, so much so that the film editor doesn't cut away from Parks's face as he delivers one long, flawless take. Barbara Hale is excellent as the romantic interest, and Ludwig Donath and Myron McCormick are fine in support. (Look quickly for "Gong Show" bandleader Milton Delugg as a young accordionist.)

Fans of Al Jolson will enjoy hearing many popular hits, and movie buffs will especially enjoy the scenes showing the preparation and filming of "The Jolson Story." You don't have to know the original to enjoy "Jolson Sings Again."

JOLIE SINGS AGAIN
My favorite of the two Jolson Movies. Watch this wonderful DVD and be brought back to a time of Inocents. When movies really were Spectacular....Get the popcorn ready..Put your feet up and get ready for a wonderful Experience...........Enjoy !!

Never get tired of this one!
Larry Parks is incredible once again as Al Jolson. Sure, its kind of predictable, and some of the more popular scenes from "The Jolson Story" are redone here, but I could watch this movie every day and not get tired of the music, story, and especially Larry Parks! Would LOVE to have it in DVD if/when that happens!

Big Shock! Jolson's voice was not used on all songs!
Columbia Pictures was not happy with at least three of the tracks Jolson sang. He was older and not well so they brought in Jolson "sound-a-like" singer Norman Brooks to sing them. If you ever heard Mr Brooks you would be amazed! He HAD AL Jolson's voice!!
Once source told me that Jolie never knew the difference.

Entertaining sequel to "The Jolson Story" with Larry Parks
"Jolson Sings Again" is a worthy sequel to "The Jolson Story" with Larry Parks repeating his amazing portrayal of the sensational Broadway entertainer Al Jolson. The film takes up where the original ended with Jolson singing in a night club then he goes home to find that his wife Julie (Evelyn Keyes) has left him. William Demarest is back once again as Steve Martin (Jolson's friend and manager) with Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne repeating their roles as Jolson's parents. Jolson is only happy when singing on stage to a live audience but finds that he is now no longer in demand and it is difficult to get work. Steve Martin tries hard to discover some Broadway producer who will put Jolson into a show but no one is interested. Jolson then volunteers to entertain the troops abroad and is one of the first of the big stars to do this. While on one of these Tours he meets Col. Bryant (Myron McCormick) who is a big Jolson fan. On another Tour Jolson contracts an illness and is taken to hospital. Ellen Clark (Barbara Hale) is a nurse at the hospital where he is recovering and they fall in love and get married. Jolson still pines to be singing again and Steve Martin manages to get him a spot in an all star benefit show. The show is extremely long and Jolson doesn't appear until the finale by which time many people have left. However, Col. Bryant is in the audience that night and he stays to the end specially to hear Jolson sing. Bryant is now a Hollywood film producer and phones Jolson after the show with an offer to make a film of Jolson's life story. Much of "Jolson Sings Again" shows the background to the making of the earlier film which is fascinating - particularly when Larry Parks (as Jolson) is introduced to Larry Parks (as himself)!! "The Jolson Story" became a smash hit putting Jolson back on top and he went on to even greater success than before with another biographical film a few years later continuing his story in "Jolson Sings Again".

Some favourite lines from the film:

William Demarest (to Robert Emmett Keane): "I'm not going back to that guy with some lame excuse that adds up to only one thing - he's not wanted. I can't do it Charlie, and you're not going to make me do it".

Myron McCormick (to soldiers at Jolson troop concert): "I don't know what the name means to you. When I was your age it meant the world's greatest entertainer - Al Jolson".

McCormick (to Parks as Jolson): "Meet a young fellow named Larry Parks".

Barbara Hale (to Parks): "It's your right to hear those bobby soxers squeal".

It is interesting to note that the storyline in both films was not entirely accurate and took a few liberties with the facts. Jolson's mother died when he was eight years old yet in the films she lives on to see him become a big success on Broadway and in talking pictures. Many people who played active parts in Jolson's real life story did not even get a mention in the film versions. His long time manager Louis Epstein, his dresser valet Frank Holmes and his brother Harry Jolson were all eliminated!! The character of Steve Martin excellently played by William Demarest did not actually exist and it has been suggested that this role was probably a composite of the three men referred to above plus several other people. Jolson's first two wives were not even mentioned in "The Jolson Story" and Ruby Keeler (Jolson's third wife) would not allow her name to be used in the picture so attractive Evelyn Keyes had to play the fictitious Julie Benson instead.

Harry Cohn (the notorious head of Columbia Pictures) is to be congratulated for going ahead with Jolson's life story when all the other major Hollywood studios had turned it down. Even Warner Bros. (for whom Jolson had starred in several films) were not interested. Filming was started on a small budget and in black and white. When Harry Cohn saw the early rushes he decided to film in colour and make "The Jolson Story" a major prestigious production. This certainly paid off in a big way for him as the film became one of Columbia Pictures top money earners and led to this sequel "Jolson Sings Again". James Cagney and Danny Thomas were both offered the part of Jolson and surprisingly both of them turned it down! Jolson desperately wanted to play the leading role himself and was opposed to another actor portraying his life. Unfortunately for him the studio decided that Jolson was too old (he was 60 at the time of the first film) but Columbia could not have found anyone better than the young Larry Parks (31) who perfectly captured the Jolson style and threw himself into the part with relish. However, Jolson did manage to play himself in one scene of "The Jolson Story" singing "Swanee" on the Winter Garden runway (all filmed in longshot with no close-ups). A clip from this scene was also shown in "Jolson Sings Again" so he did manage to appear in both films after all. Following the completion of "Jolson Sings Again" Larry Parks only made another four films due to the McCarthy communist "witch hunt" which was a shame as he was a very talented performer. He died in 1975 but will always be remembered for these two magnificent Jolson films. It is remarkable that over 50 years after Jolson's death there is an active "International Jolson Society" still in existence which has hundreds of members worldwide and publishes regular illustrated journals. "The Jolson Story" and "Jolson Sings Again" are two of my favourite musicals and I can watch them over and over again. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

SUPERB
Long considered one of the finest "B" films ever made, this taut little thriller benefits from realistic settings and the acting of little (and ultimately tragic) Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale and Paul Stewart. Bobby Driscoll won an award for his playing of Tommy - who doesn't seem to know reality from fantasy. Tommy lives with his parents in a poor tenement section of New York; one hot night he has his mom's permission to sleep outside on the fire escape. Tommy is kept awake by adult commotion coming from inside an opened window of another apartment, where he eventually witnesses a man being stabbed to death by a pair of scissors...An ingenious variation of the "Little Boy Who Cried Wolf" theme, this taut little thriller builds up to an exciting climax which has the little guy ingeniously evade the murderers. Paul Stewart is chilling as he pursues Tommy and Ruth Roman does well as his equally cold-hearted wife. Barbara Hale is fine in a realistic portrayal of Tommy's mother; as the dad, Arthur Kennedy is merely okay. Three quarters of the film was shot on location in NYC & director Tetzlaff captures the atmosphere of dusty, derelict side streets and flyblown tenement exteriors. The climax, a chase at night across collapsing rooftops, is tense, well-composed and edited. Bobby Driscoll won a special juvenile award for his winning portrayal of Tommy. Sadly, in 1968, Driscoll was found dead of drug abuse - in a run-down abandoned tenement in NYC. Ironic.

Impressive Movie
This kid Bobby Driscoll is excellent. He steals the whole movie. There were a few "I can't believe this" in the movie. What a brave kid. ... Read more

Amazon.com

John Milius charts a decade of social change as three surfing buddies use the sport as a personal touchstone for their lives while growing up in the turbulent 1960s. Irresponsible hot-dogging legend Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent), serious and stable Jack (William Katt), and mad misfit Leroy, a.k.a. "Masochist" (Gary Busey), are teenage surf bums in 1963, living at the beach in a perpetual summer under the sway of surfboard-maker Bear (Sam Melville), guru, mentor, and keeper of the lore. But the times they are a changin' and boys grow up in the shadow of Vietnam while adulthood pushes them into hard decisions. John Milius mixes the nostalgia of American Graffiti with the reverence of a John Ford cavalry drama. Surfing becomes a kind of spiritual quest spoken of in awed mythic tones and photographed with the epic grandeur of a rite of passage. Milius's heavy-handed direction and reverent attitude slows the films and will turn off some viewers, but Milius fans will appreciate his macho stylings and philosophical musings, and surfing fans will love the spectacular surfing footage, including the dazzling stylings of world champion Gerry Lopez (who Milius later cast in Conan the Barbarian). Lee Purcell costars as Matt's supportive wife, with Patti D'Arbanville, Barbara Hale, and Robert Englund in supporting roles. Look for Ford stock player Hank Worden in a small role and Milius himself in a cameo selling marijuana in Tijuana. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (43)

SURF MOVIE OF THE CENTURY!
This movie is regarded as a surf classic and rightly so. Slickly produced, consisting of a series of vignettes over 13 years it gives a non-surfing person a revealing insight into the surf culture. The still-thorny issue of the Vietnam War is dealt with and the transition from the swinging sixties into the seventies is handled very well (a technique John Milius perfected in his 1983 classic Uncommon Valor which incidentally pre-dated the much hyped Rambo First Blood II by nearly two years). The climax of the film is the surf footage at the end depicting the legendary day of a lifetime, Big Wednesday. The only negative is the thought that the two stars, Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey threw away their lives after this movie due to drug addiction (Busey almost died from an overdose in 1994). Another negative is that some of the surfing terminology in the book didn't make it to the film. In the book, the car is referred to as "The Makeshift" - it isn't in the film. Still, if you cast these things out of your mind for 100 minutes you will experience something truly special. You won't be disappointed.

Early acting at its best...
This film is phenomenal in that it brings not only William Katt, Gary Busey and Jan Michael Vincent together but also introduces many new faces to 80's film and television such as Robert England (aka Freddie Krueger) and Steve Kanaly (aka Dallas). The film, although originally thought of as a surfing movie is far from that. It is a film totally encompassing the late 60's and early 70's around the vietnam era and the pressures of the strained relationships of three friends. A film worth seeing for anyone who grew up during that time.

Yes
If you're interested in surfing at all, you need this one.

Surfing Movie
This one is not just a documentary about surfing. It is actually a good life/friendship movie... And let's not forget about the waves! I enjoy watching this movie.

Cover misleading - needs better cover
BIG WEDNESDAY is, as many have stated, so much more than just a surfie movie. It explores the friendship of three friends over a 10 year period who just happen to all have a surfing passion. A film overlooked by many, yet has a great story to tell with excellent performances by Katt, Busey and Vicent. The surfing aspect is a small part of the overall storyline.

I think the marketing people should have released this DVD title with a different cover as it is misleading and cheapens the movie to a great degree. It is so much more deserving than that. ... Read more

Description

In the South, peddler marries school teacher and then starts on a whirlwind rise politically, using hysteria among cotton pickers and small-town folk as his device. His rise is halted when his crooked goings-on are exposed. Based on the novel by Adria Locke Langley. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nice Flim
James Cagney shines as a charming but corrupt rural politician trying to deceive the voters. Barbara Hale is great as his sweet wife who is clueless about how dishonest her husband really is. It isn't Cagney's best film, but it is entertaining, and the performances are excellent. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

An amazing film
Joseph Losey's early masterpiece, The Boy With Green Hair, deserves a first-class DVD treatment. This is not it. The DVD quality is very, very bad.
Other Losey films, such as his version of M and Secret Ceremony need to be released on DVD also.

AWFUL DVD PICTURE FOR A FIRST-RATE FILM
This movie has been a favorite of mine since childhood. It covers an important time in American history -- World War II, Macarthyism, xenophobia ... and love. Fine acting, superb screenplay by a talented writer ... and it deserves a first-rate recording. The picture is almost impossible to see, the colors are dull, the sound is dull ... One must strain to see and hear this delightful film. Give us a Re-Mastered Version and I'll pay anything for this heartbreaking, life-affirming piece of art that has become a (cult) classic!

Everybody Has Green Hair
This DVD is one of the worst transfers in my collection. The picture has an overall greenish tint to it and it seems to be "fuzzy" or out of focus. Little care seems to have been taken in producing this DVD. Printing on the case looks unprofessional. Stockwell's acting is first-rate, but the supporting cast does a walk-on, at best. I recommend this movie only for the most avid, diehard Dean Stockwell fan.

The little movie that caused a lot of trouble
Joseph Losey's radical film, "The Boy with Green Hair" (BWGH) (RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., 24 November 1948) never got a fair shake. World events of the time haunted it, and powerful men argued about it. It was an expensive production for RKO and a showcase for cutting edge Technicolor film. I believe the film should be seen again and appreciated, if only in the context of it's time.

The film would hardly stir a ripple today but not in 1948. Like the film, "The Search", it centered on the plight of war orphans in postwar Europe. After World War II, the United States began to disarm, seeking the halcyon isolationist peace it knew before. However, by 1949, the political reaction in the US to international Communism led to the jingoistic Red Scare. It became an example of the kind of film some in and out of government didn't like: (1) it was made by Communists in Hollywood, (2) its theme was pacifist, and (3) it expressed racial and ethnic tolerance.

When Howard Hughes, the armaments manufacturer, purchased RKO in May 1948, half the staff quit (including BWGH's producer and studio VP, Dore Schary) and others were fired. Hughes tried to change BWGH in several ways, including screaming at 12 year old Dean Stockwell to change his lines to a call for a stronger military. But Stockwell, though terrified of Hughes, believed in the film's message and refused. Allegedly, Hughes was unable to re-edit or change the film to his liking. So, he likely sabotaged it in other ways. The film was banned in some places, and Hughes soon pulled it from distribution and shelved it. Its box office is difficult to determine, though Variety reported it did respectable to fair business but not "socko". If critics understood it was a parable, then they were okay with it. If they thought it was literal, then they didn't understand it at all. Generally, they thought the story tepid and uneven. Both the director and a co author, Ben Barzman (who'd adopted a war orphan), were blacklisted. Other careers were hurt over this film, and even Stockwell stated in a 1990 interview that he's surprised he wasn't blacklisted, too, because of the fury over BWGH.

It opens in the period following the war. Twelve year old Peter Frye (Stockwell) is telling his story to a psychiatrist. Peter has a bald, white head. He is a sad, lonely boy whose parents were killed in the war and has been shuttled among relatives. Finally, he goes to live with a distant relative he calls Gramp (Pat O'Brien), a retired entertainer. Peter displays an active imagination and a tendency to exaggerate. But Gramp's Irish tall tales, gentle wisdom, and magic tricks are a fair match for Peter's little fibs. There is genuine affection between them. Then, while bathing one morning, Peter discovers his hair has turned emerald green. Peter first thinks it's one of Gramp's magic tricks, but it seems that the transformation is inexplicable and Peter hates it. So does almost everyone else. Eventually, Peter learns that the green hair is a mark that there must never be another war, and he delivers this message to the town. The town doctor tells Gramp that "Peter will discover it's a dangerous thing for a man to have green hair." Peter becomes an enemy of the people and hunted as an outcast.

It's quite rich in subtext. The story follows the pattern of the mythic Hero's Journey, during which Peter, like the postwar US, loses his illusions and innocence. He accepts the necessity of his parents' mission to save children from war and their deaths. He is complete now and happy in Gramp's love Further, I see the green hair as an image of the Green Man, the ancient Celtic icon of spring and rebirth after winter. The Green Man appears as a face adorned with green leaves and sometimes wearing a cap of stag antlers. This is forecast with Peter's baseball cap, which has a design like two horns on it, and when he is playing with his green hair in the bathroom mirror he forms two antler-like spires out it. Peter, in the spring of his life, is a symbol of the promise of new life, peace, and tolerance.

There are also plausible clues about Peter's green hair and his peace message. Peter may be an unreliable narrator, considering his imagination, history of exaggeration, and belief in Gramp's magic tricks. We also recall he washed his hair with a bar of green soap that morning. At the denouement, we may wonder, like the psychiatrist, whether Peter's hair turned green. Was it imagined, magic, a miracle, or an accident? Still, Peter has his message to sustain him.

Despite its troubled past, the film is a cult classic. It has been released again on vhs, when I would've preferred a dvd. The transfer might've been better. The new release from Terra Entertainment also has an acceptable image, probably on par with an internet version I've seen. Though I'm certain Losey sometimes shot in subdued light to fit the mood. Perhaps Stockwell might've offered commentary for a dvd. He's almost the last survivor of the principal cast. Though he viscerally hated acting as a child, he gave a very mature, thoughtful performance. Variety's review commented on Stockwell's "absorbing and sensitive" performance, as did others. Few juvenile performers today can match him. His home studio, MGM, now aware they had a standout juvenile star after "Genleman's Agreement" (he'd won a Golden Globe award) and BWGH (he'd won the Parent's Magazine award), exploited his talent. His famous roles in "Down to the Sea in Ships", "The Secret Garden", "The Happy Years", and "Kim" followed immediately. I believe it should be restored. It was the little film that caused a lot of trouble.

A classic, mostly unknown....and unnappreciated.
I first saw this movie when I was a child, and was immediately fascinated by it. I have seen it many times since, and enjoy it each time. It is a war story, (WWII) about a little boy, Dean Stockwell, (Peter) who loses both his parents and goes to live with his grandfather, Gramps, wonderfully played by Pat O'Brien. Gramps is a magician by nature and a waiter by trade, and he must work nights, consequently leaving young Peter home alone. The boy is terrified at first, but Gramps reassures him with the sentence: "There's nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on." He amuses the boy with magic tricks, and eventually wins his trust and love. One day at school there is a paper drive for war orphans, and it is then, from a classmate, (with the typical cruelty of children) tells him he resembles a boy in one of the war posters, and Peter responds: "I do not look like him; anyway, he's a war orphan." And the classmate says, "So are you." And that's how he finds out his parents are never coming back, and he really is a war orphan, and feeling betrayed, mistrusts Gramps and his teacher, and everyone else. Then he wakes up one morning and finds his hair has turned green. He is astonished, as is Gramps, who finds the color is permanent and will not wash out. When he goes to school that day, he attracts a great deal of attention, and at first, it's interesting; then people start to panic: "It's the milk, it's the school," etc. and fear spreads. So finally, the milkman complains and everyone shuns Peter and Gramps takes him to the barbershop where he has his head shaved completely bald. He wears a cap, but still the kids at school plague him, and one day, on the way home from school they chase him into the woods. They go away, he loses them, and finds himself in a glade, and flings himself down on the ground, crying...he looks up suddenly, aware that he is not alone, and sees a group of poor, bedraggled children, all sorrowful, all terribly thin, with torn, ragged clothes. The tallest and oldest of the children, a boy of about fourteen, speaks and tells him why his hair turned green...and why it is of such importance. The performances are fantastic, and the musical score is superb, a song written by a true original, **Eden Ahbez, the real First Hippie/rebel:

(**he was a legend in Hollywood for his unusual life style. Even after he and Jacobsen had a son, they kept on living out under the stars, with not much more than a bicycle, their sleeping bags, and a juicer to their name. The story may be apochryphal, but it's said that once, when Ahbez was being hassled by a cop who assumed from his wild appearance that he deserved to be hauled off to a mental institution, he remarked calmly, "I look crazy, but I'm not. And the funny thing is, that other people don't look crazy, but they are." The cop thought it over and responded, "You know bud, you're right. If anybody gives you any trouble, let me know.")

and it is called, aptly, "Nature Boy", sung beautifully by Nat King Cole. Haunting melody. It should be required viewing in all schools, and should also be released on DVD. Buy the VHS and see it, you are in for a great night's entertainment and more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great movie for animal lovers!
This little-known live action movie is about a tame wolf who was brought up from a pup to live in civilization and be the pet of Russ Hanson(Jeff East). Grey,(the wolf's name)was later blamed for some attacks on livestock and on a little girl. With hunters on their trail, both Russ and Grey flee into the mountain wilderness to escape, and along the way Russ attempts to train Grey to adapt to life in the wild and run with his own kind. One of my favorite disney movies that should be rereleased on video and dvd and digitally mastered like other films of the same time period such as Nikki Wild Dog Of The North, Big Red, The Legend Of Lobo, etc. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Frank Sinatra's first featured film role; he sings 5 songs!
Frank Sinatra had his first featured film role in "Higher and Higher," a musical romantic comedy. The story deals with a household of servants who learn their employer is bankrupt. The valet Mike (Jack Haley), wants to pass off Millie (Michelle Morgan), the scullery maid, as Drake's debutante daughter in the hopes she can snag a wealthy husband. I am sure this sounded like a good idea at the time. Their prime target is Frank (Sinatra), the guy next door. Another prospect, Fitzroy Wilson (Victor Borge), turns out to be equally phony, while society matron Mrs. Keating (Elisabeth Risdon), has plans for her own debutante daughter Catherine (Barbara Hale). You know everybody is going to end up living (and singing) happily ever after, but for most of the film it is up in the air as to how everybody is going to end up pairing up, so it is not overly predictable. A pleasant enough musical, once you get past the convoluted plot, the film is certainly representative of the early Frank Sinatra who was beloved of the bobby soxers, who is essentially playing himself here. Sinatra sings five songs in "Higher and Higher," all written by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson: "You Belong in a Love Song," "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night," "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening," "The Music Stopped," and "I Saw You First." Based on the play by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan, this 1943 film was directed by Tim Whelan and should be checked out by any and all Frank Sinatra fans who want to remember what the Chairman of the Board was like when he started out in the mailroom.

Classic News on this Review
When you come across something that has caught your eye you don't forget it easily. This classic, "Higher and Higher", caught my eye about 6 years ago, when my mother was introducing her children to a higher plain of movies. Classic Movies! Ah, just let the Words roll off your tounge. The movie will have you in stiches from beginning to end, and asking for more. Romance, comedy, and a mysterious twist at the end, that keeps comming at you minute after minute. Character acting, of course is flawless. The comradery between the actors and actresses seemed to be weaved together like a tightly nit throw blanket designed to comfort and keep you warm in any situation. So, as you rent this Comedic video remember that it will take you Higher and Higher.

Rockin, Radical, Coolness, Fabulous!
Ok so it's highly unlikely that even a scullery maid could make that many stupid mistakes and sure, they sing a tune at the drop of a hat, but the atmposhere is so light and funny. True entertainment comes from classic movies. It's almost impossible to find modern humour, but you put in a movie like "Higher and Higher" and it's so light that it gives you an instant lift. I think it's witty and adorable and I highly reccomend it to old movie lovers like me! :)

Was life really ever this simple?
If you like corny, Frank Sinatra, no plot, crooner movies--this is for you. Not only is it Frank Sinatra's film debut...but also that of Mel Torme' and Barbara Hale aka Della Street-

Frank Sinatra is razor thin and Mel doesn't look like he is old enough to drive--but Mel gets to sing briefly too and there is no denying that Mel is destined to be the Velvet Fog.

This movie is pure corn, but hey....its supposed to be. :) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Cool western!!
In this cool western about an honest marshall trying to clean up a corrupt Montana town starring Barry Sullivan and Joan Caulfield.Check it out!! ... Read more