Reviews (8)

may we never forget Bataan
Some of the most horrific events of WWII occurred in the Pacific Theater, and this film touches on what happened in Bataan, where tens of thousands of U.S. and Philippine soldiers died in captivity, either on the infamous Death March, the appalling POW camps, or the hell-ships.
At the beginning and ending, this film briefly shows some of the survivors, though it is "sanitized", and the men have some flesh back on their bones.

John Wayne is terrific as Colonel Madden, who organizes the resistance fighters, and does his own stunts, some of which must have left him muddy and bruised.
Anthony Quinn is also excellent as Captain Bonifacio, the leader of the Filipino guerillas. Both Wayne and Quinn are at their most handsome and heroic, and make a fine cinematic pairing.

Though the script is sometimes stilted, it is based on actual events and people, and was written as history was happening, taken from the daily newspapers to the screen.
Edward Dmytryk's direction is well paced, and Max Steiner's "stock music" was used, along with an original score by Roy Webb.

Much in this film can be said to be "propaganda", as it is "good vs. evil", with no subtleties or gray areas, but these were the days when Hollywood and patriotism were compatible, a sentiment that filmmakers seem to have lost, and a time that seems long gone.
May we never forget the souls who bravely fought for freedom and suffered so much in Bataan.

Just a little patriotism involved
Back to Bataan is a flag-waving patriotic movie that was filmed and released as WWII was drawing to a close. The story is about the Filipino people and their fight for freedom from their Japanese oppressors. This is very obvious patriotism with the Japanese portrayed as cowardly murderers and the Americans as noble freedom fighters. John Wayne stars as Colonel Joe Madden, the man selected to help organize the Filipino guerilla movement. His small company wreaks havoc on the Japanese forces in the Phillipines as the war progresses. The young Duke is very good in his role as Madden with Anthony Quinn also excellent as Captain Andres Bonifacio. Also starring are Beulah Bondi, Lawrence Tierney, Vladimir Sokoloff, and Paul Fix. This is a very good movie that shows a part of the war many people do not know about. Check this one out to see an exciting, well-told, adventure story. Classic Duke!

Back to Bataan: The Last of the
With the end of the Second World War close at hand, Hollywood was taking no chances as it continued to churn out patriotic, flag-waving war movies, most of which featured John Wayne. In BACK TO BATAAN, director Edward Dmytryk does showcase Wayne along with Anthony Quinn as both pay homage to the inspired loyalty of the Philipino men and women who risked their lives to aid the Americans against the Japanese. BACK TO BATAAN is an old-fashioned war film, of the kind that has not been filmed since then. In addition to the heroics of the American leads, it features a sterling cast of slanty-eyed Japanese villains to boo and hiss and stalwart Filipinos to cheer. Phillip Ahn and Richard Loo (both ethnic Chinese) play moustache-twirling Japanese officers who speak fluent if not accented English as they spin out their lines of threats and entreaties backed by more threats. Vladimir Sokoloff, a veteran of scores of films, here plays an unassuming school principal who refuses to haul down the American flag when ordered to do so. He is hanged for that, but his body, cleverly draped by the Stars & Stripes, is an unabashed symbol of solidarity between American and Philipino. Ducky Louie, as the schoolboy Maximo, is equally heroic as one who could not spell 'liberty' correctly but whose death proved that he full well understood its meaning. What BACK TO BATAAN shows is Hollywood's contemporary paen to America that the patriotism that is nowadays derided as colonialistic and left-wing jingoistic was then seen as a necessary adjunct to a war that had the bad guys on one side and us on the other.

A so-so Hollywood war film...
A hearty, but hamfisted, formulaic WWII propaganda film about the liberation of the Phillipine Islands from the Japanese occupation, loosely based on contemporary history. Future McCarthy snitch Edward Dymytrk directs; a handsome young John Wayne is the white guy who organizes the guerilla resistence, and Anthony Quinn is cast in one of his many "ethnic" roles, as the grandson of a legendary Filipino political figure, who is now called upon to lead their people to freedom. Although there's plenty of "good neighbor policy" talk about the nobility and can-do spirit of the Filipino people, this jingoistic, bluntly-scripted film is mostly pretty patronizing... And of course, the "Japs" are just pure, conniving evil. The script is pretty action-packed, though... if you like shoot-em-ups, this is OK, if you don't think too much about it. Really nice B&W cinematography.

Realistic and Innovative Filmmaking
This is an excellent film about Filipino guerillas fighting the Japanese during W.W.II. A highlight of this film is the black and white photography of realistic combat scenes filmed by cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca and directed by Edward Dmytryk. These were exciting and ahead of their time. John Wayne as Colonel Joe Madden and Anthony Quinn as Captain Andres Bonifacio give inspirational performances. The cast also included Beulah Bondi, Richard Loo, Lawrence Tierney, Paul Fix and Vladimir Sokoloff. This is one of my favorite war films of the period. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Crossfire was nominated for the 1947 Best Picture Oscar won by Gentleman's Agreement. Gentlemen may propose, if not agree, that Crossfire was better. Like its upscale rival, the film noir raises the specter of anti-Semitism in America: just after World War II, an affable Jew (Sam Levene) is beaten to death by one of several GIs out "crawling." Solving the crime takes all night, but for the audience the killer's identity is scarcely in doubt; Robert Ryan's chilling study in psychopathic bigotry scored him his lone Oscar nomination. He's nearly matched in creepiness by Paul Kelly as an odd nightbird married to sultry Gloria Grahame. Two other worthy Roberts--Young and Mitchum--respectively play the police detective and the Army sergeant wondering which of his guys is a murderer. Incidentally, the hot button in the Richard Brooks novel was not anti-Semitism but homophobia--a sweaty subtext in Edward Dmytryk's film. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Rising above the level of a B Movie
I had been looking forward to seeing "Crossfire" for a number of years; it never seemed to be available on any of the channels I had access to. I finally got my wish and I was duly impressed. This is a very good movie that tells the story of what hate can do if left unchallenged. It is, thus, a message that is timeless in its' relevance. However, as I understand it, the screenplay altered the book ("The Brick Foxhole" by Richard Brooks) because the subject matter was ahead of its' time. In the book, the murderous anger is directed against homosexuals which would, to me, make for a more effective movie than the one that was presented. That comment aside, the elements of fear, prejudice, anger and superstition are all woven well together along with some very good acting. Robert Ryan is the dominant character both on the screen and in the plot. Playing almost an opposite personality is the low-key, almost bored, yet quite efficient policeman played by Robert Young. In between those two extremes is the role played by Robert Mitchum. This was from the era when Mitchum seemed at his peak in acting abilities and his role in "Crossfire" underscores his strength on the screen. The other roles are played with varying abilities. The transformation of the Ryan character from bully to desperate was very well done. There is a very small but interesting twist to the plot that caught me off-guard and helped me understand how the perpetrator was to be brought to justice. This is one of those film noir movies that shows the darker side of humanity. Its' message works very well thanks to good acting, directing, writing, and camera work.

Redefining the Enemy
Unlike most film noir, Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire, adapted from a novel by Richard Brooks, is not nearly as concerned with its murder mystery, which, at first sight, might seem superficially formulaic to the casual viewer, as it is with the complex motives of its characters and the oppressive ambience of its accurately rendered post-WWII setting, evoking feelings of disorientation, loneliness and entrapment. Under its classic noir exterior, it is about hardened and aloof veterans' struggle with postwar reintegration, utterly unable or unwilling to put their traumatic experiences behind them, and about their desperate attempt to redefine their goals. For those who define themselves by who their enemies are, such as hateful loner Montgomery (the brilliant Robert Ryan), this necessitates establishing a new one, a role filled here by Jewish intellectual Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene), who becomes the regrettable victim of a senseless hate crime.

At first the film appears to simply be going through the motions: After the ambiguously shot opening murder scene all evidence points, for reasons I cannot presently remember, to Corporal Arthur Mitchell (George Cooper). Captain Finley (Robert Young) investigates and is soon joined by the idealistic Sergeant Peter Keeley (Robert Mitchum), who is certain of Mitchell's innocence. Two minor military characters, Floyd Bowers (Steve Brodie) and Bill Williams (Richard Benedict) are also somehow involved. Monty murders the former, while the latter, after a stern, Hugh Beaumontesque talking-to, reluctantly aids Finley and Keeley in setting a trap for the dastardly ne'er-do-well. Or perhaps it was the other way around -- I watch so many movies that Bowers and Williams might as well have been stranded in the South Seas and mistaken for Gods by the natives. Or, possibly, they have to spend a night in a haunted house before they can claim their inheritance, where they find a monkey that can play baseball and helps the local team win some games. At any rate, there's also the obligatory femme fatale Ginny Tremaine (Gloria Grahame) and a compulsive liar (Paul Kelly, delivering a wonderful performance) who might or might not be her husband, and exists mostly for local color and comic relief.

However, the real meat of the piece is the complex characterization of the veteran archetypes. Mitchell, for instance, suffers from a classic case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (often also referred to as "shell shock," "war neurosis" or "combat stress") and, like many suffering from this condition, is taunted and branded as a coward by his fellows. He has become utterly self-loathing and fears the return to normalcy. The scene in which is wife finally gets him to confront these fears and enables him to return to her (and his art) is one of the film's many highlights. Then there's Peter Keeley, perhaps the most positive military archetype on display here: the natural born leader. He is extremely charismatic and persuasive, has great concern and compassion for his fellow soldiers, and manages to bring out these qualities in others. It is Keeley's considerable understanding of both human nature and his compatriots' dilemma that makes him so valuable to Captain Finley, the only other character of equivalent moral fiber. Their polar counterpart is Montgomery, a sadistic, racist bully who vents his frustrations by mocking and humiliating his fellow men. Left without an enemy, he creates elaborate rationalizations to justify his hate for a substitute. This really could be the member of any marginally different group (in the novel, I am told, the victim is a homosexual), but in this case it happens to be a Jew. While one's initial reaction might be that Montgomery obviously fought on the wrong side during the war, it is important to remember that, at the time, anti-Semitism was far from limited to Nazi Germany. Indeed, after World War One, the financial and societal crisis of the Great Depression caused anti-Semitism to reach its zenith, and violent attacks on Jews were quite commonplace in many major cities. Later, the U.S. refused entry to countless German-Jewish refugees, interpreted by Hitler as a clear sign of approval for his Final Solution.

Still, as Captain Finley correctly points out, practically anyone would have done as a victim for someone like Montgomery.

Post war anti - Semitism
Edward Dmytryk's "Crossfire" was a powerful and seminal treatise dealing with anti-Semitism in post- WWII America. He broached an issue previously tabooed in films which was on the minds of many in the U.S. in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Washington D.C. is teaming with servicemen who fought in the war but are presently idle with spare time on their hands. Inactivity leads to tragedy as a group of three inebriated soldiers are involved in the savage beating death of a man who turns out to be Jewish. The leader of the group is Robert Ryan, in an Oscar nominated performance, playing Montgomery a bigoted loathing, hateful man unable to control his emotions. He bullies his other two cohorts into silence. George Cooper, one of the two other soldiers, is a naive timid man who longs for his wife. He had been so tipsy that he doesn't have any recollection of the crime, so Ryan tries to implicate him. He quiets the third soldier by killing him and making it look like suicide.

Robert Young playing the coy and placid police captain Finlay, who had been exposed to Irish bigotry, is assigned to investigate the case. With the help of U.S. Army sergeant Robert Mitchum they uncover enough evidence to suspect Ryan, but have no motive. Young decoys Ryan and tricks him into revealing his deep seated violent feelings of anti-Semitism which soon incriminate him.

Another towering performance by the vastly underrated Ryan
Landing one of the lead roles in RKO's low-budget gem, Crossfire placed Robert Ryan at the forefront of the studio's exciting new stars. Although the actor's intensity had been tapped in two earlier films, Marine Raiders and The Woman on the Beach, Crossfire was pivotal in terms of future roles that would come his way.
Several brillant, controversial minds came together on Crossfire, in the persons of producer Adrian Scott, director Edward Dmytryk, screenwriter John Paxton, and executive producer Dore Schary. As a penetrating example of the film noir genre, the thematic elements of alienation, isolation and loneliness received a grand treatment in Crossfire, as all of its characters are depicted in a state of flux, in limbo. Soldiers and civilians alike are portrayed as tired, bored, frustrated souls, trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, victims of the emotional turmoil of World War II. All are searching, waiting for something to happen, and as depicted by the professionals from RKO, the performances are superb. The choice of the three leads in Crossfire was a stroke of genius, validating Schary's sagacity in casting and in public relations. In accepting the unsympathetic role of the sadistic bigot, Montgomery, Ryan took a big risk in career terms, since a failure of the movie might have short-circuited his advancement.
He always viewed his role in Crossfire as a mixed blessing, and believed it contributed to his being typecast as a perennial heavy. Although today Ryan is often remembered for that part alone, in a larger sense it served him well, since from his Best Supporting Actor nomination in 1947, he became a major contender for stardom. Moreover, it was a statement, albeit inadvertent, of his and everyone else's conflicts and ambivalences as human beings. His friend Henry Fonda once said that acting was therapy for him, a way of expressing the positve and negative aspecturs of humanity, but with a constructive purpose Ryan seemed to have shared those sentiments.

A Noir Gem Exposing Bigotry
While "Gentleman's Agreement" exposed anti-Semitic bigotry among New York's sophisticated cocktail set, RKO's "Crossfire" tackled the topic from a Middle American perspective as Robert Ryan gave one of his most stirring performances as a soldier returning to America from war filled with hatred.

"Crossfire" was one of the greatest low budget achievements in film history, earning five Academy Award nominations. Director Edward Dmytryk turned out a gem on a $550,000 budget. It was shot in 20 days. Dmytryk shot 140 scenes distributed out over a 6 1/2 hour daily schedule, a pace of 20 scenes per day.

The film noir classic was based on the novel "The Brick Foxhole" written by ex-Marine Richard Brooks, who would later became a film writer, and finally the great director of classics such as "Elmer Gantry" and "In Cold Blood." Brooks' novel differed from the film in one basic area. In the book Montgomery, the hateful killer, murdered a homosexual, while also revealing a hatred for Jews. In the movie he was revealed as a former police officer from St. Louis who detested Jews, killing kindly Sam Levene, who invited him into his Washington, D.C. residence for a drink.

The film encompasses one very busy night in our nation's capital, in which Robert Mitchum, playing a worldwise, cool-headed sergeant, helps police detective Robert Young to solve the case. Mitchum is determined from the outset to clear George A. Cooper, the vulnerable young soldier on whom Ryan seeks to pin the crime, taking advantage of the fact that Cooper had been drinking and cannot initially adequately account for his time during the time period of the crime.

Cooper's cause is aided by Paul Kelly, who plays a bizarre, mentally troubled man with a penchant for alcohol and a strong urge for B-girl Gloria Grahame, who takes Cooper back to her apartment. Not wanting to get involved, Grahame refuses to help provide Cooper with an alibi, not even after Cooper's wife, Jacqueline White, has interceded on her husband's behalf. Just as Young, Cooper and White are about to leave, Kelly, having overheard the conversation, walks into the living room and corroborates Cooper's account of events.

Ryan commits a second murder, killing fellow soldier Steve Brodie when he fears that he will go to the police, strangling him with his victim's Army tie. It is the shrewd Young, who reveals to Mitchum that his own Irish immigrant grandfather was killed by a bigoted mob not long after coming to America, whose expertise ultimately traps Ryan into revealing himself. He uses young Southerner William Phipps, a soldier Ryan likes to make fun of, to reveal information that proves perfect bait for the merciless killer, who falls into the trap.

One outstanding noir ploy of the film is that, in order to hide Cooper from the D.C. police while he is under suspicion for murder, the wily Mitchum takes him to an all-night movie theater. Mitchum and fellow soldiers periodically surface in the darkened theater to hold quiet strategy sessions, focused on the task at hand of clearing Cooper and proving their steadfast belief that Ryan is the killer of Levene. The all-night theater idea was adapted from Brooks' novel.

RKO intended to use the "Crossfire" team of Dmytryk, producer Adrian Scott and screenwriter John Paxton on numerous other projects. The right wing anti-Communist witch hunt period surfaced at that inauspicious point as Dmytryk and Scott eventually went to jail for contempt of Congress as two members of the Hollywood Ten. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Alvarez Kelly, revisited
Its funny how (to me) lines from movies sometimes bubble to the surface of consciousness from out of nowhere. I hadn't thought about "Alvarez Kelly" in years. Recently, in my minds's eye, I recalled the image of an eye-patched Confederate leader named Col.Tom Rossiter,(Richard Widmark) silently and solemnly inquire "Did you please her.....Kelly"? That simple line was so fraught with innuendo and suggestion that it always stuck with me. So on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I popped a widescreen version of "Alvarez Kelly" into my DVD and sat back to review and enjoy this 1966 Civil War oater (or should I say "beefer")? It was a decent ride. Alvarez Kelly (William Holden) enjoys pursuing the finer things in life, his earthly habits subsidized in part by trading as a cattle speculator or war profiteer depending upon your point of view. In this capacity, he has no particular loyalty to the North or the South. However, and as the opening credits point out, all armies in all times require food as well as armaments to prevail. As the Yankees and the Confederates fight for control over Kelly's 2500 head of cattle, he is unwillingly forced to provide his services to the boys in Gray. This fact in no way serves to curb his rather prodigious libido, and he continues the shameless pursuit of any woman who has the slightest physical beauty. Released in the mid-Sixties, Bond mania was in full swing and I would argue that this film was influenced by and shared some obvious similarities in attitude and tone with agent 007. Anyway, enter Liz Pickering (Janice Rule), the shapely but long suffering intended of Rossiter, a physically diminished yet gallant and honorable leader of the Southern cause. Liz is instantly drawn to Kelly's virility and earthly ways and inevitably, favors are shared. Her rather brief on screen appearance only serves to provide a convienient source of personal friction between Rossiter and Kelly. Inevitably though, the war intrudes and a battle for control of the cattle looms. Kelly, awarded with a battlefield commission takes charge of a desperate situation in his own unique way. The cinematography of this film is crisp. The strong performances by Holden and Widmark really play off each other well. All in all, this Western is elevated a notch or two above the average because of Edward Dmytryk's solid direction, an acceptable musical score although they could have lost the hokey song at the beginning, decent photography, good character actors, an interesting premise and manages to deliver all this in under two hours. Given contemporary standards, I can't help but wonder how Hollywood would handle a randy character like Kelly today.

An Entertaining Civil War Film
This is a good American Civil War adventure film full of bravado and action. William Holden and an one-eyed Richard Widmark turn in credible performances as reluctant partners in a raid for Union cattle. It also features Janice Rule, a foppish Patrick O'Neal and a bawdy Victoria Shaw. There are some good skirmish sequences and a plot containing some witty dialogue. Some of the plantation sequence is a little reminiscent of John Ford's "The Horse Soldiers" also with Holden. It contains an adequate score composed by Johnny Green of "Raintree County" distinction and beautiful photography by Joseph MacDonald. The stalwart Edward Dmytryk leisurely directed it for pure cinematic enjoyment. The DVD widescreen images are as crisp as ever.

Fantastic Perfomances from William Holden & Richard Widmark!
This is an explosive civil war western that packs in a lot of story and character delvopment. Willam Holden stars as Alvarez Kelly a Mexican/Irish cattleman who provides beef for the union army and does not care who wins the war as long as he gets his money and enjoys a peaceful life. But things change quickly when Col. Tom Russleter(Widmark)kidnaps Kelly and inprisons Him. In one of the most memorable scenes in the film Russleter Shoots off Kelly's little finger to persuade him to help out with the confederate army, and if he doesn't he'll shoot off his remaininng fingers. Kelly relucteny agrees but gets back at Russletter by getting his girlfriend to leave him. Another memorable scene in the film was the heard of cattle charging through the Union Army's brigade, With Kelly & Russelter at the helm and by the end of the film both men end up having respect for one another. Along with "THE WILD BUNCH" AND "BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID" "ALVAREZ KELLY" is a classic Western film and may not be best remembered as the other two but it still packs in the same excitement and Story and it's a great film to watch!

So Cool !!!!
This is exciting movie I think ! I watched this movie 15 years ago and I impressed too much in that time. In civil war Richard widmark find cow and take them to south. This movie shows another side of civil war. If you see this movie you can feel fresh things !!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Interesting but offbeat Western 3.5 Stars
Based quite rigidly on the best selling novel by Louis L'Amour, we find Sean Connery in the lead role here complete with Scottich brogue, that sits OK despite being a dusty, rough around the edges hero. Not often seen on reruns, and I don't know why this film didn't get much exposure, as many people I know haven't seen it, or even heard of it. I'm tempted to say at this point, that this is not a movie that will live long in the memory, but don't be put off - it has a strangely compelling quality and realistic feel, and a better than average script. There a number of violent scenes, most notably the grissly demise of one of the lead characters (I won't say who) at the hands of a vicious band of Indians, and you could draw some comparisons with the content of movies like "Soldier Blue" although that came along several years after this. On the whole this is a good solid western, with great acting pretty much all round, the 60's film style is evident in Ms Bardot's stunning appearance throughout, despite her supposedly being in the dusty back of beyondville, but this is nothing to get too upset about. I was pleased to see this come to the DVD market, and hope it will reach the wider audience it deserves. Enjoy

Bardot and Connery Rule!!Great Classic Western!!
Brigette Bardot and Sean Connery Rule in this great classic western.It's a must see!!

Connery better than expected
Sean Connery does a much better job in this western than I could have imagined. He plays his role in a Randoph Scott fashion. At this point of his career Connery is ruggedly handsome. He even speaks more clearly than he usually does. Bardot plays the role of a countess with grace and style. Her usual child-like qualties which set her apart from other screen beauties arn't apparent here.

The entire cast is excellent, however, the script is flawed and far fetched so while there are many good moments the picture ultimately doesn't click. This doesn't mean it is a poor movie. It simply is another run of mill western.

Pretty Good Western and a bit unique
Okay. Before we bought this I didn't know it existed. My wife did. Watching it on DVD my wife said that she was seeing parts of it that were totally new to her. When she saw it on TV it had many scenes cut (for time I imagine).
Speaking of time. It's NOT 113 minutes. More like 125 minutes.
Was Connery any good? Yes. His accent didn't bother me and he was the tough guy though not as proactive as some heroes. He used his instincts more than his gun. A plus in this film.
It was more fun though to see the length of Bardot's hair vary from scene to scene and be amazed at how heavy and PERFECT her eyemake-up always remained. If you've seen Pam Anderson lately in 'VIP' you'd think this was her mom or something. They are quite alike.
That said it's a pretty brutal western. There is a great deal of on-screen violence. Arrows fly. Flaming arrows hit more than wagons. The champagne isn't quite chilled to perfection either (you'll get this joke if you see the movie)

Honor Blackman's character has a tragic death scene (shocking for it's brutality and unexpected). It was one of the more unusual I have seen on screen (and in a western). This was Peter Van Eyck's last movie. He even looks ill for most of it.
Don't expect the calvary/U.S. Army to rescue anyone. They are talked about, but never appear. That can be a good thing.
The price is right and it's an obscure piece. You can show it to friends and say ....hey Sean Connery was in a Western!

007 & BB go way out West!
With the cast this movie has--Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Honor Blackman, Peter van Eyck, Valerie French, and Woody Strode--and based on a novel by Louis L'Amour (and with a foreword by him) this should have been a much better Western than it is! It's a slow moving tale of a hunting party that becomes the hunted party. Shalako (the name means "rain bringer" in Zuni Indian), played by Connery, rescues a group of European noblefolk on a hunting expedition in New Mexico in the 1880s after they run afoul of hostile Apaches, who like to hunt, too; they like to hunt the "white-eyes," whether European or home-grown, who invade their territory!

This DVD has no bonus features at all, not even the theatrical trailer! Just a scene selector menu. But the image quality is quite good and you have a choice of widescreen or full frame. Sean Connery looks good in his buckskins and six-shooter, in his prime before the gray beard and bald pate. Brigitte Bardot is simply gorgeous, as is Honor Blackman (GOLDFINGER, THE AVENGERS TV series.) I recommend this DVD as a novelty item mostly, for Connery fans (it's his only Western--if you don't count OUTLAND!) and Bardot fans (it's her only Western, too--if you don't count LES PETROLEUSES, a French-Italian oater!)

I first saw this movie at my favorite drive-in theater in '68, and the only thing I remembered about it was Bardot's modestly demure bare back scene, until I saw it again on this DVD edition. This movie is just rather forgettable! It was filmed on location in Spain, and Spain doesn't look anything at all like the American Southwest, a fact European "Western" makers should realize, and that any John Ford fan can attest to! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Reluctant Saint 1962
this is a great heart warming and funny movie entertaining
great for all the family

Splendid!
There are many disappointing books and films about Francis and Franciscan spirituality. This film, based on Spoto's biography of Francis, isn't one of them. It offers a wonderful introduction to the Poverello of Assisi, beautiful to the eye and illuminating to the heart and mind. Replete with the usual breathtaking Assisi scenary one finds in films about Francis, this documentary also provides a sensitive interpretation of what Francis was up to, what values he represented, and what kind of lifestyle he lived and, by example, taught. With the aid of interpretive commentary from experts such as Murray Bodo and Bernard McGinn (as well as, rather oddly, from nonexperts such as Mario Cuomo), the film honestly explores Francis's sense of failure towards the end of his life and the extraordinary experience on Mt. Alverna that enabled him to reexamine his life's work and find peace with it. Throughout the film there are several contentious interpretations given as fact--the claim that Francis suffered from leprosy, for example--but overall, a fine and commendable addition to the growing body of work on Francis. Highly recommended!

Funniest Adaptation of a Saint's Life
I got this video together with a bunch of other saint videos, and was preparing myself for something rather pious and poorly produced. Boy, was I wrong! To begin with, this black and white film on the life of the medieval saint Joseph of Cupertino is brilliantly cast. Maximillian Scnell plays the rather stupid Joseph, a perennial klutz who can't keep anything straight in his head without much effort. But he loves God profoundly and desires to become a monk. The second thing that surprised me was how funny this movie was. It's quite episodical, and the humor is of the old more theatrical style - but given those limitations, it set me off laughing more than a few times. Richardo Montebalm also gives a great performance as the uptight monk who can't stand Joseph's stupidity or his extrordinary gifts. God blesses Joseph's love with unusual graces, onces that literally knock him off his feet, to the bewilderment of his priestly brothers.
A real treat. Don't miss it. Hope it goes to DVD! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

very good
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid, but it was only glimpse of it, but my mom told me what the name was. This film is very interesting Iconsider this one of the old classics.

Hang on to your seats, a camp classic!
Though this wretched movie is not the nadir of Richard Burton's career (check out "The Klansman" for that dubious distinction), it comes mighty darn close. The script, the acting and the general tone of this movie is beyond repulsive, it is tawdry, inane and ultimately, quite pathetic. However, there is one overwhelmingly redeeming feature to "Bluebeard:" it is so bad it is unintentionally hilarious!

Burton sleepwalks through this silly film with a cheap, stick-on goatee. As always, he overacts to a ridiculous degree and one eternally wonders why his directors never took him aside and said, "Richard, you don't need to scream every single line." Alas, Burton is magnificently dreadful here, his attempts at lovemaking become bombastically embarrassing to watch, his few, brief attempts at some decent acting are wickedly futile. One real-life moment to ponder: following one love scene with one of the no-name Italian starlets, the director yelled, "cut!" but Burton and the starlet continued kissing and then walked off the set to Burton's waiting limousine. Hmmm, where was Liz?

This is a great movie to enjoy with a few beers and a readiness to make fun of every scene and hurl collective invective against Richard Burton. If you are up to the challenge, then "Bluebeard" is your movie.

This is a great art and erotic film
I loved Joey Heatherton's performance. I strongly agree with the cover which says "Richard Burton stars in this fantastic tale with some of the most beautiful women in cinematic history, including Raquel Welch and Joey Heatherton" (and some fantastic European actresses such as Virni Lisi, Nathalie Delon, Karin Schulbert, Agostina Belli, and Sybil Danning). "Baron Kurt Von Sepper (Burton) is an Austrian aristocrat who lives in austere obscurity in a large castle. He has married his seventh wife (Heatherton), to whom he seems ardendly attached. One day, she finds a mysterious golden key which gives access to a secret passage where she finds her husdand's previous wives. It is then that the Baron recounts to her the horrid and bizarre details of his past. It remains to Heatherton to fight for her survival and to avoid becoming just another beautiful frozen body." I strongly recommend this movie.

What a hoot! Fun blend of horror and comedy.
I was surprised to be entertained by this film since I'd heard it was bad. This dark comedy, dismissed in its initial theatrical release by critics and audiences alike, deserved better. It's a hoot! There is some beautiful cinematography, gorgeous sets, some fine acting, suspense and masterful segues between drama, horror, and comedy. The women, Bluebeard's doomed wives, are gorgeous, especially the lovely Joey Heatherton, who steals the movie from one of my all time favorite actors, Richard Burton. The murder scenes are graphic but so bizarre they both repel and make you laugh at the same time. They illustrate the absurdity at the core of Burton's sexually dysfunctional villain, a man of vast power and wealth who cannot acquire the most important thing in life, the love of any of his wives. Don't take it too seriously, just enjoy it.

Richard Burton should have been shot for this one
This film is so bad it makes the Exorcist II look like a masterpiece. The only thing that saves this horrible film are the many beautiful women it has. I cannot express how utterly repulsive this film is and how sad it was for me- a big fan of Mr. Burton to watch it. Now I understand why many critics have called Mr. Burton a sad waste of talent. Not only is this an example of wasted talent but rather an example is pure creed and stupidity. How could he follow Virginia Wolf? Becket and the spy who came from the cold with this garbage. One word money. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Good ingredients - shame about the script!
Susan Hayward comes to Hong-Kong, then a British Crown Colony, to search for her husband, a journalist, who entered China without a visa, and "disappeared". She meets Michael Rennie, who works for the water-guard: Hong-Kong is a den of vice, unprotected women are considered a fair game. She finds out that Clark Gable is the right man for the job, a charming smuggler with a heart of gold (he adopted three Eurasian children). In the meantime Hayward's husband stews in a chinese prison. He wanted just a picture-story for his newspaper and now his guards torture him and taunt him with the photo of his wife and the promise that she will lie in Gable's arms within a month! Hayward is taken in by an embezzler who promises to work as middleman but goes into hiding with her money. But Gable comes to her help. He bribes informers with wrist-watches, takes Rennie and his sampan (ship) hostage, finds the baddie, beats him up and rescues Hayward's husband (cruises & shootings).

And this is it, I fear. What sounds more like an expose of a film is actually the finished product. In retrospect this film seems to me like an endless succession of scenes that show Hayward being verbally abused in bars. A pity - with all those good ingredients: Gable at his most Rhett-Butlerish, Hayward at the height of her career, the scenery. Gable's scenes were shot on location, but since Hayward's ex-husband prevented her from taking her nine-year-old twin sons to Hong-Kong the film makers made use of rear-projections and a red-headed double. Gable's biographer, Warren C. Harris, wrote that Gable had a clause in his contract, that allowed him to quit at five - so that he could start drinking! He also noticed that Gable used to shake under tension, so director Edward Dmytrik (a onetime target of HUAC) cut his scenes down to three or four lines.

Tired melodrama
Jane Hoyt (Susan Hayward), a self-sacrificing, loyal wife, enlists the aid of Hank Lee (Clark Gable), a roguish gambler with a heart of gold, to find and rescue her missing husband from Communist China. Filled with stock characters (ie, the policeman who secretly admires the dashing criminal and helps him in the end, the comical drunken sailors who hate "dames") and stock situations (passions flare during a big storm). There is some nice photography, but it couldn't hold my interest.

Why no DVD?
Terrific score and Hong Hong scenery for this action film. All the dreck's on DVD, why not this excellent movie?

YOU ARE IN GOOD HAND'S, WITH THE KING.
THIS MOVIE'S PHOTOGRAPHY (HONG KONG, THE HARBOR, THE OCEAN, AND CLOSE UPS)WAS CUTTING EDGE IN 1955, AND IS STILL BREATHTAKING TODAY (WITH A GOOD VHS/TV). CLARK GABLE GIVES A GREAT PERFORMANCE AS A MAN'S MAN, READY TO HELP THE GREAT LOOKING (SUSAN HAYWARD), A STRONG LADY, SLOWLY WEAKENING TO "THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE", BUT STILL HOLDING TRUE TO HER MISSING/PRISONER (GENE BARRY)HUSBAND. MICHAEL RENNIE PLAYS THE GOOD COP, WITH A SENSE OF ADVENTURE, AND THE REST OF THE CAST ARE EVIL, HUMOROUS, LOYAL, AND ENTERTAINING, IN THIS IS, A GREAT 1950'S, COLOR MOVIE.

Hong Kong in 1955
This movie has beautiful scenery! It's worth seeing for that alone. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

a hugely entertaining film
MGM tried to outdo themselves here, touting the film as the next GONE WITH THE WIND (and what could ever be?), and instead they gave Elizabeth Taylor the acting role that would land her her first Oscar nomination.

She is wonderful as the simpy Southern belle Sussanna, who traps her reluctant beau (Montgomery Clift) into marriage by saying she is pregnant, forcing him to abandon his childhood sweetheart (Eva Marie Saint), and his chance to be truly happy.

Sussanna is mentally unstable, however, and when the Civil War breaks out, she flees to Georgia, and her husband enlists in order to find her.

A very good story, based on the novel by Ross Lockridge Jr, and featuring Lee Marvin, Agnes Moorehead, Rod Taylor, Walter Abel, Jarma Lewis and Tom Drake.

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT
The best thing about Raintree is Elizabeth Taylor. Her Susannah is sexy, fragile and tormented. Montgomery Clift as her husband was miscast. Monty seems to be half asleep in his role and is too old to be playing a wide eyed lad. Eva Marie Saint as his righteous ex girlfriend who spends her life hovering around him has a thankless job playing an annoying woman. In fact a lot of Raintree is annoying. I kept waiting for John Shawnessy to grow up, tell off his small minded family and to take his wife and child away somewhere to start over. The battlefield scenes are great. The scenes with Elizabeth before she goes mad are gorgeous but the whole film seems off somehow. While watching it I kept thinking that this movie, with a beter script, casting and director could have been great.

ross lockridge never knew what they did to his book
Esquire magazine used to have a feature called "Wretched Excess" and I believe "Raintree County" would easily fall into that category.
As for the one reviewer stating that Ross Lockridge probably didn't like the screenplay, well---unfortunately he never knew about the screenplay as he killed himself shortly after the book became a best selling novel in 1948 and the film was released in 1957.

A Gorgeous Historic Film "a la" Gone With The Wind
Raintree County was a thousand plus novel written by Ross Lockbridge Jr. published in 1948. At its time, it was regarded as the Great American Novel second only to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind and in some ways, both Raintree County and Gone With The Wind are a bit alike, although everyone generally considers Gone With The Wind to be the superior work of historic fiction. And it is. Gone With The Wind, as we all know, became a highly successful film in 1939, even winning Best Picture. It must have dawned on Hollywood producers that the novel would make a breathtaking movie. It was the 50's, the new invention of television had just entered people's homes and the movie industry was threatened. It was the time of the "epic films" (The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur). In 1957, "Raintree County" was released in theatres. The appeal to the film was its Cival War Era drama and Elizabeth Taylor.

It's no Gone With The Wind, but Raintree County is a beautiful film to look at visually. The master shots of the scenic countryside in Raintree County are incredibly lovely, the costumes look authentic to the period, the music is enjoyable but subtle, and Elizabeth Taylor is always interesting to watch on film. Elizabeth Taylor plays Susanna Drake, a vibrant Southern belle with a troubled past (her plantation home caught on fire and she had issues with her mother). Although she seems to be almost a near replica of Scarlett O'Hara in many of the scenes, she lacks Scarlett O'Hara's strength and willful nature. While Scarlett could survive anything, Susanna Drake weakens out at the end of the film, becomes mentally disturbed (she has a strong attachment to a scary looking Chucky doll) and dies a pathetic death when she seeks out the Raintree. This is not Elizabeth's finest performance. A tragic heroine is still acceptable, but this particular heroine is not as satisfying as Vivien Leigh's performance as Scarlett. Also, her "rival" and John Shawnessy's first love and childhood friend Nelle is an easily replaceable role. I was thinking she was the equivalent of Melanie Hamilton in Gone With The Wind and a role that could have been played by Olivia De Havilland once again. The women in this film are not portrayed as strongly as the men are. And even the men are not as substantial. It's just Yankee versus Rebels. The relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift's characters is not that well developed. It's not enough that they are from opposite sides of the Civil War conflict- she's at heart a Southerner and he's a Yankee. I was even disappointed in one scene in which Elizabeth says to Montgomery after an argument "You hate me because I'm Southern!". This film could have used some polishing. I'm very certain that even author Ross Lockbridge Jr. was not entirely satisfied with what they did to his book in screenplay form.

Montgomery Clift has done other worthwhile movies but in this film, his performance as John Shawnessy is wooden and lacks some substance. Although he is supposed to be portrayed as an idealist poet and writer (much like Doctor Zhivago), we never see him write anything. All we get is his desire to seek out the elusive and magic, all-healing legendary Raintree, supposedly planted by Johny Appleseed and a quest he gives up at the end of the film. Professor Jerusalem is a funny and amusing character but a bit too shallow. Again, this film is rather interesting to look at if you want to get some insight on Civil War Era America (1850's and 1860's) and the mention of such things as abolitionism, Uncle Tom's Cabin, copperheads, Abraham Lincoln, Fort Sumter and Gettysburg to the later Republican politics of the Reconstruction are very historically accurate.

This "Roadshow" version is beautiful to look at nevertheless. Out of curiosity for Civil War history, this would make a great film to watch as a history project in high school or college courses. This film is also worth watching if you're a hardcore fan of Elizabeth Taylor and don't care what role she plays or what movie she is in, whether it's "Little Women" "National Velvet", whehter she plays the tragic Susanna Drake, Cleopatra or the other Southern heroine in Tenesee William's "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" or the incredibly nasty character in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf ?".

Read the book instead
This movie is not the best and the sets are awful!I would recommend the book though. However, it does have an interesting behind the scenes story. Like, did you know that this was the beginning of the end of Montgomery's career. During the middle of the film he was in a horrible car crash that destroyed his face and took away his gorgeous looks. In which Elizabeth Taylor saved his life. They tried to cover up Montgomery's appearance after the accident but the film suffers. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For its first minutes, The End of the Affair looks like it's going to be a standard "two tortured souls who know they shouldn't be having an affair but are going to keep on doing it anyway" movie. Fortunately, it gets more interesting than that. Van Johnson plays Maurice Bendrix, an American author in wartime England. While attending a cocktail party of noble civil servant Henry Miles (Peter Cushing), he accidentally catches a glimpse of Henry's wife, Sarah (Deborah Kerr), kissing another man. Fascinated, he arranges to meet her, and the two start an affair. Maurice, unable to get Sarah's previous infidelity out of his mind, gets clingy and suspicious; Sarah tells him they can't meet anymore and goes back to Henry, and that's that. Or is it? Maurice is unable to let go of Sarah, and as he investigates he finds out there was far more to the end of their affair than he thought. Kerr has by far the most difficult job of the film, playing several layers of deception as the coolly efficient civil servant's wife with more than one unexpected passion hiding just below the surface. Peter Cushing also does quietly good work, touchingly playing what could have been a thankless Wronged Husband role. Indeed, most of the usual standards are fleshed out in surprising ways in this strange and earnest little movie. Like its heroine, The End of the Affair takes a grim surface story and gradually reveals the unexpected passions underneath. (Based on the novel by Graham Greene and remade in 1999 with Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes.) --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Strong Sarah, weak Bendrix
I recently watched this film, about a year after I'd seen the 1999 version. Of course, both films have their own shortcomings and merits, but here is my opinions on the earlier version. Deborah Kerr's performance was good, and she beautifully portrayed a woman torn between her unsatiable passions and her search for truth and God. However, Van Johnson's role as Bendrix was totally ineffective; when he was crying, I felt like the few tears he produced were too forced and unfelt. His performance cannot compare to the brilliant acting of Ralph Fiennes in the later version, but I preferred Deborah Kerr's Sarah to Julianne Moore's. Kerr lent authenticity to her role, something that I think Moore failed to accomplish. (As a side note, even though she is a talented actress, I abhorred the plethora of Moore's flesh in the 1999 version. We don't have to see borderline soft porn to understand that Bendrix and Sarah are having an illicit affair. Please.)

Overall, 1955's version is well worth a watch, just imagine Ralph Fiennes as Bendrix instead of Van Johnson. Had they gotten a better actor in 1955, like Cary Grant or Gregory Peck, this film version would have been much more convincing and entertaining. But as is, it's a farily decent wartime love story.

An interesting film
I always say it, it's no use comparing books to films, nor comparing nineteen forties or fifties movies with current releases, for many reasons, not only because of limitations due to the Production Code, which reigned supreme in those decades. This is a fine, interesting movie, with a top performance by that grand lady of the 50's, Deborah Kerr, who excelled in this kind of roles (one can remember "From Here to Eternity" and "Bonjour Tristesse", among others). Also, very good performances by the supporting-all-english-cast, most notably Peter Cushing and John Mills, and good acting by previous-boy-next-door Van Johnson, much in the way of his role in "The Last Time I Saw Paris" with Liz Taylor, but even better. I saw this movie for the first time when I was a kid and couldn't fully understand many of its implications, anyway loving it. In spite of the restrictions imposed by the aforementioned P. Code to the sexual aspects of the main characters relationship, it's pretty adult material in regard to their inner conflicts and contradictions. Serious viewing. Recommended.

Not a perfect movie, but darned interesting....
A tale of the tension between faith and doubt in love and later in religion. Van Johnson is, mmm, adequate as the male lead, Deborah Kerr's as good as I've ever seen her. The real gems are the supporting cast: the angry atheist, the dourly kindly priest, and above all Sir John Mills as the comical detective and his friend Peter Cushing in a brilliant, underrated performance as the cuckolded husband. Try it, you might like it.

Affair in a Straightjacket
This well-meaning adaptation of Graham Greene's novel about love, faith and mysticism suffers from being a product of its time. The sterile conformity of the 1950s apparently did not allow the full glory of this story to be brought to the screen. While it avoids the central pitfall of its 1999 successor, that of Sarah and Bendrix renewing the physical aspects of their affair, the '55 version greatly plays down Sarah's great desparation for love, understates Bendrix's jealousy and atheism to almost non-existence, and completely removes the mystical aspects of Sarah's conversion to belief. This last omission is so glaring that it calls the entire effort into question. Why we don't hear Sarah telling Bendrix "Love doesn't end just because we don't see each other" or "People go on loving God all their lives without seeing Him" is baffling. Not even one of Sarah's after-death miracles is depicted or even hinted at. In the end, this story about a woman's journey from adultery to sainthood turns out to be little more than a 1950s soap opera--and not so moving a one at that. The talented perfomers who labored in this straightjacket--Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson--deserved better. So did Graham Greene enthusiasts and movie-goers in general.

Better than the remake
I much preferred this version of the Grahme Greene classic to the newer version with Julianna Moore and Ralph Fienes. That movie was far too graphic for my tastes and the story was so confusing that I was often completely lost. In any case, in the 1999 version, I found I did not like the characters, therefore, I could not care less what happened to them. In this version with Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson, I could follow the story line and find a sympathy for the characters. It was almost like "aha, so that is what it was all about." Sort of shows that today's graphic realism can ruin a really good story. I like the old way better...leaving a little mystery and something to the imagination. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Strawberries, anyone?
"The Caine Mutiny" follows the story of the men aboard the minesweeper U.S.S Caine during the period of 1943-44 in the pacific war. After the Caine is assigned a new captain, Philip Queeg (Humphrey Bogart), the officers begin to get suspicious at various acts that the captain does: His attention to small details such as shirttails and erratic behavior like rolling ball bearings in his hand when he's nervous and the spouting of catchphrases like "I kid you not". His behavior reaches a climax during a typhoon. Executive Officer Maryk (Van Johnson), after being advised by some others, relieves the captain with the firm belief that the ship would founder with Queeg in charge. Now Maryk has to defend his actions in a court martial.

It may seem surprising today, but at the time of this movie's release, Jose Ferrer was one of the hottest actors around. He was already an Oscar winner for 1950's "Cyrano de Bergenac". Here, he plays Lt. Barney Greenwald, who is assigned to Maryk's defense, but isn't so enthusiastic ("I've read the preliminary investigation very carefully and I think that what you've done stinks."). He came off to me as a competent defense attorney who was just waiting for the moment to strike. And although the evidence that backs up Queeg and goes against Maryk is overwhelming, Greenwald is able to break down Queeg in court, validating his instability and allowing Maryk to get off only with a reputation as a "mutineer".

My favorite performance is Fred MacMurray as Lieutenant Keefer, who doesn't think too highly of the Caine, even being cynical towards it ("The first thing you've got to learn about this ship is that she was designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.") And, though not a psychologist himself, he is also the one who raises it to Maryk's attention that Queeg may be nuts. Since he also contains hammering the idea at Maryk, it makes one assume that he would be willing to go all the way by alerting the top navy brass. But we soon learn that he is nothing but a scheming coward. He plants it in the men's minds that the captain is crazy, yet has "A yellow streak 15 miles wide". And when he is called to testify, "He never even heard of Queeg" as Greenwald remarks. At this point, we turn from disliking his cynicism to hating his guts. MacMurray, I thought, played this role so well and very convincingly. Surprisingly, he never got Oscar nominated for any of his performances. Perhaps the academy thought that this actor-who's most well known as the father on "My Three Sons" and had a track record in light comedies- wasn't prestigious enough to win the gold. It's like his against type roles in "Double Indemnity", "The Apartment" and this movie never existed!

In the beginning of the film, we tended to dislike Queeg because he's a nut. He has the ship steam away from a combat mission, he orders no more movies to be shown, has constant practice drills and, when some strawberries turn up missing, has the ship searched and basically ripped apart in a futile search for a "duplicate key to the icebox". But at the end, when Keefer's plan is revealed, when sympathize with Queeg at how he was used and mistreated by his crew. For had the crew supported and helped the captain when he asked for it, things might have turned out different in the typhoon. This is one of Bogart's better roles, maybe his last great one, and it netted him his last Oscar nomination. He made only about 3 or four other movies after this one, with the last, "The Harder they Fall", being released in 1956. In February 1957, Bogart died of complications from throat cancer.

If there is one problem with "The Caine Mutiny", it is the romance plot between Ensign Keith (Robert Francis) and his girlfriend May, played by May (Coincidental?). Keith's character is the first we are introduced too in the film. His involvement in the film is sort of like that of the newsreel reporter in "Citizen Kane": He serves as a guide, a plot device to the events that follow. And only a handful of scenes are dedicated to Keith and May. However, these end up in the way of the much more exciting action involving Queeg and the other officers. I have read Herman Wouk's novel and am aware that this wasn't manufactured for the film, but was actually in the book (And was the main plot, if I'm not mistaken). This shows how much the screenwriters tried to remain faithful to the book. But the only way the movie could have been truly faithful to the novel would be if it had been two and a half or even three hours long. With a roughly two-hour movie, the writers should have figured out what was more important to focus on. If they had either dumped or worked out the romance plot better so it fit more into the plot, the movie would have been even better.

Otherwise, "The Caine Mutiny" is a great film, one that many persons can find something to like. Naval buffs will enjoy beautiful shots filmed aboard naval destroyers at port and sea to represent the DMS Caine. Fans of court room dramas will find a very tense, well played one that'll satisfy them (Though a 1988 T.V movie, "The Caine Mutiny court-martial", was said to do a better job. But having not seen that, I can't form an opinion). Bogie fans will most likely judge this one of his career highlights. And skeptics of Fred MacMurray's talent will be put to rest. Add in a supporting cast that includes Tom Tully, E.G Marshall and Lee Marvin, you have great entertainment, I kid you not!

Intrigue, manipulation and hard choices. A great film!
The 1954 classic is about a naval captain who shows signs of mental instability and the resultant actions of the men in his command. It's not as simple as that, however. The characters are the key to the story, each one developing in front of our eyes into complex individuals with moral dilemmas to confront. There is Humphrey Bogart, cast a Captain Queeg whose decisions are no longer respected by his men. There's Fred MacMurray, cast as a smart and manipulative lieutenant. There's Van Johnson, cast as the lieutenant on whose shoulders the responsibility falls. There's Robert Francis, the young ensign whose perceptions change in front of our eyes. And then there is Jose Ferrer, cast as the attorney who defends Van Johnson when he is put on trial for mutiny. Put them all together in a fast paced script with enough twists and turns, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

The special effects, of course, are nothing like they are today. But they were certainly enough. I wasn't thinking about the special effects as I watched the film. I just simply felt I was on that ship. I wasn't thinking about the actors' performances either. Instead, I was so totally involved with the story that I felt I was actually in the skin of each of the characters. Just like real life, the situations were never crystal clear and each choice that was made opened up new challenges.

These were challenging roles for all the actors and they rose to the occasion magnificently. I'll never forget the twitch in Humphrey Bogart's cheek or the way the lighting captured the white of his eyeballs. I'll long remember Fred MacMurray's speculations and the kind of choice Van Johnson had to make. Robert Francis was good, but not as great as his co-stars, and his role was hampered by a silly romance. This was a strong film, though, and this small diversion didn't matter at all.

Even though this film was about the military, I can't classify it as a war film. Here, there was no enemy but the men themselves and the choices they made. It's a wonderful theme and has the classic universality to it that can adopt the lessons it teaches to a wide variety of situations. I give it one of my highest recommendations. Don't miss it!

"Ah but the strawberries - that's where I had them..."
The crew of the USS Caine resents Captain Queeg, who places the blame for a series of blunders and petty infractions on the crew. Such instances include cutting their own target tow-line while Queeg berates a crewman for having his shirt untucked, and later and most famously, interrogating the officers for the apparent stealing of some strawberries.

The mutiny results when, in a life-threatening storm, Queeg freezes up and does not give the order that would save the ship. At that point he is relieved of command by Van Johnson.

Later at the court-marshall Johnson is defended by Mel Ferrer and prosecuted by EG Marshall. But was Queeg torpedoed by the crew with insubordination and lack of respect, or did Queeg go off the deep end? Queeg's paranoia comes out in full force, complete with marbles.

Based on Herman Wouk's best-selling Pulitzer-winning novel, the movie arguably has Bogart's best performance which was one of seven oscar nominations. Look for Claude Akins and Lee Marvin in small roles. Only the unnecessary love-story between a new ensign and his girlfriend detracts from the otherwise intriguing story.

Way To Go, Pinntinajeur
In early December some guy (or girl) named Pinntinajeur reviewed this DVD and complained about the price. Not less than month later that price was reduced by $10!!!! Way to go, Pinn! I'm not saying he/she was totally responsible but who knows, maybe he/she is.

Great movie, lousy DVD
The Caine Mutiny is a great film and featurea one of the best performance of Humphrey Bogart's life. That's high praise considering the quality evident in his body of work but he really delivers the goods in The Caine Mutiny. The film benefits from other strong perfomrances as well. Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and others all rise to the level of the unusally intelligent script. The result is a fancinating character study that I would recommend to anyone.

As good as the movie is, however, the transfer to DVD is about the worst I've ever seen. The moment the movie started, I was stunned by how much noise was evident. I wasn't looking for it or analyzing the picture, it jumped out because it was so extreme. Every face, every object, every thing was literally swimming with digital noise. And the sound is as bad or worse. No effort was made to re-master the soundtrack to even rudimentary surround sound making this the first movie I've seen in years to be presented in basic stereo. In addition, the sound is flat throughout, with even big explosions lacking punch.

The Caine Mutiny is a classic film and deserves much better treatment from the studio. As a movie, I would give it 5 stars but I deduct one for the extraordinarily poor picture and sound quality of the DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Classic Movie!!
Mark Stevens stars as an American sea captain hired to transfer 10 million dollars in gold from France to the United States during the War of 1812 to help fight the British,his job becomes more difficult when his crew finds out about the gold and try to sabatoge the ship.Also starring Angela Lansbury and Gene Evans which makes it a great classic movie!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It Was All About The War
I saw this movie a long time ago and I believe that now, in April of 2003, this movie may be relevent to some today. The story of Jo, who moves in with other women during WWII and share cost and heartache and laughter, played by Ginger Rogers is sappy but fit the times.
The most compelling scenes for me were when one of the girls is blessed enough to see her soldier and have a special evening, all the other women make their man's favorite dish, all of which the poor soldier can't eat. It showed how desperate they were to be with the men they loved. The next scene that stuck for me was the last scene where Jo has recieved the telegram of her husbands' death and tells her new baby about his daddy. She tells him never to let anyone say his father died for nothing. It was all pure drama but did the job for the time. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

a hugely entertaining film
MGM tried to outdo themselves here, touting the film as the next GONE WITH THE WIND (and what could ever be?), and instead they gave Elizabeth Taylor the acting role that would land her her first Oscar nomination.

She is wonderful as the simpy Southern belle Sussanna, who traps her reluctant beau (Montgomery Clift) into marriage by saying she is pregnant, forcing him to abandon his childhood sweetheart (Eva Marie Saint), and his chance to be truly happy.

Sussanna is mentally unstable, however, and when the Civil War breaks out, she flees to Georgia, and her husband enlists in order to find her.

A very good story, based on the novel by Ross Lockridge Jr, and featuring Lee Marvin, Agnes Moorehead, Rod Taylor, Walter Abel, Jarma Lewis and Tom Drake.

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT
The best thing about Raintree is Elizabeth Taylor. Her Susannah is sexy, fragile and tormented. Montgomery Clift as her husband was miscast. Monty seems to be half asleep in his role and is too old to be playing a wide eyed lad. Eva Marie Saint as his righteous ex girlfriend who spends her life hovering around him has a thankless job playing an annoying woman. In fact a lot of Raintree is annoying. I kept waiting for John Shawnessy to grow up, tell off his small minded family and to take his wife and child away somewhere to start over. The battlefield scenes are great. The scenes with Elizabeth before she goes mad are gorgeous but the whole film seems off somehow. While watching it I kept thinking that this movie, with a beter script, casting and director could have been great.

ross lockridge never knew what they did to his book
Esquire magazine used to have a feature called "Wretched Excess" and I believe "Raintree County" would easily fall into that category.
As for the one reviewer stating that Ross Lockridge probably didn't like the screenplay, well---unfortunately he never knew about the screenplay as he killed himself shortly after the book became a best selling novel in 1948 and the film was released in 1957.

A Gorgeous Historic Film "a la" Gone With The Wind
Raintree County was a thousand plus novel written by Ross Lockbridge Jr. published in 1948. At its time, it was regarded as the Great American Novel second only to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind and in some ways, both Raintree County and Gone With The Wind are a bit alike, although everyone generally considers Gone With The Wind to be the superior work of historic fiction. And it is. Gone With The Wind, as we all know, became a highly successful film in 1939, even winning Best Picture. It must have dawned on Hollywood producers that the novel would make a breathtaking movie. It was the 50's, the new invention of television had just entered people's homes and the movie industry was threatened. It was the time of the "epic films" (The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur). In 1957, "Raintree County" was released in theatres. The appeal to the film was its Cival War Era drama and Elizabeth Taylor.

It's no Gone With The Wind, but Raintree County is a beautiful film to look at visually. The master shots of the scenic countryside in Raintree County are incredibly lovely, the costumes look authentic to the period, the music is enjoyable but subtle, and Elizabeth Taylor is always interesting to watch on film. Elizabeth Taylor plays Susanna Drake, a vibrant Southern belle with a troubled past (her plantation home caught on fire and she had issues with her mother). Although she seems to be almost a near replica of Scarlett O'Hara in many of the scenes, she lacks Scarlett O'Hara's strength and willful nature. While Scarlett could survive anything, Susanna Drake weakens out at the end of the film, becomes mentally disturbed (she has a strong attachment to a scary looking Chucky doll) and dies a pathetic death when she seeks out the Raintree. This is not Elizabeth's finest performance. A tragic heroine is still acceptable, but this particular heroine is not as satisfying as Vivien Leigh's performance as Scarlett. Also, her "rival" and John Shawnessy's first love and childhood friend Nelle is an easily replaceable role. I was thinking she was the equivalent of Melanie Hamilton in Gone With The Wind and a role that could have been played by Olivia De Havilland once again. The women in this film are not portrayed as strongly as the men are. And even the men are not as substantial. It's just Yankee versus Rebels. The relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift's characters is not that well developed. It's not enough that they are from opposite sides of the Civil War conflict- she's at heart a Southerner and he's a Yankee. I was even disappointed in one scene in which Elizabeth says to Montgomery after an argument "You hate me because I'm Southern!". This film could have used some polishing. I'm very certain that even author Ross Lockbridge Jr. was not entirely satisfied with what they did to his book in screenplay form.

Montgomery Clift has done other worthwhile movies but in this film, his performance as John Shawnessy is wooden and lacks some substance. Although he is supposed to be portrayed as an idealist poet and writer (much like Doctor Zhivago), we never see him write anything. All we get is his desire to seek out the elusive and magic, all-healing legendary Raintree, supposedly planted by Johny Appleseed and a quest he gives up at the end of the film. Professor Jerusalem is a funny and amusing character but a bit too shallow. Again, this film is rather interesting to look at if you want to get some insight on Civil War Era America (1850's and 1860's) and the mention of such things as abolitionism, Uncle Tom's Cabin, copperheads, Abraham Lincoln, Fort Sumter and Gettysburg to the later Republican politics of the Reconstruction are very historically accurate.

This "Roadshow" version is beautiful to look at nevertheless. Out of curiosity for Civil War history, this would make a great film to watch as a history project in high school or college courses. This film is also worth watching if you're a hardcore fan of Elizabeth Taylor and don't care what role she plays or what movie she is in, whether it's "Little Women" "National Velvet", whehter she plays the tragic Susanna Drake, Cleopatra or the other Southern heroine in Tenesee William's "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" or the incredibly nasty character in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf ?".

Read the book instead
This movie is not the best and the sets are awful!I would recommend the book though. However, it does have an interesting behind the scenes story. Like, did you know that this was the beginning of the end of Montgomery's career. During the middle of the film he was in a horrible car crash that destroyed his face and took away his gorgeous looks. In which Elizabeth Taylor saved his life. They tried to cover up Montgomery's appearance after the accident but the film suffers. ... Read more