Month: January 2022

Accompanied by police officer Lloyd Nolan, conman John Hodiak has agreed to travel across country and testify against his former crime partner in exchange for a reduced sentence for himself. Also on the train to New York is another scam artist, Lucille Ball, and the former partner Elisha Cook Jr. The group takes advantage of various stops to take in the sights and Hodiak and Ball fall in love. It’s a sweet little romp with some little twists where honor amongst thieves is questioned. I always enjoy seeing Lucy perform, but it’s especially nice when it’s a change of pace from her I Love Lucy character.

After Kiefer Sutherland is acquitted of the brutal rape and murder of her teenage daughter, Sally Field is determined to avenge her daughter’s death. It verges a bit into TV movie territory, but Kiefer commits to full-throttle creeper while Sally breaks out her best full-power mama bear to bring him down. The rape scenes are brutal one; the first one perhaps made worse that it happens among the decorations for a younger sister’s birthday party. Perhaps an artifact from the original novel that takes some different directions, there’s a weird parallel story about an undercover FBI agent that doesn’t go anywhere.  

Oh! Calcutta! is rather infamous for its (at the time) risqué nudity. Because of this, I’ve been curious about it for a long time. Sadly it’s quite disappointing. The vast majority of the film consists of skits that are just a bit more blatant than any other variety show from the era. Think Hee Haw or The Carol Burnett Show with a bit more skin. Having the first one include rape as its central premise puts a downer on the whole proceedings and takes awhile to wash away with some of the funnier bits. And not all of the sketches are at all funny. For me, he most interesting parts of the whole production were the beginning and the end where the entire cast is naked together on a bare stage.

Southerner Michael Caine’s plans to sell his heiress wife Jane Fonda’s land to a northern company are thwarted when two nearby land owners, his white cousin John Philip Law and his wife’s black former nurse Beah Richards, refuse to go along. When the two poorer owners join forces, it begins a war with actual casualties. While his accent is thoroughly suspect, it’s an interesting change seeing Caine portray an unredeemably bad guy, along with Burgess Meredith as a bigoted judge. It’s a bit heavy on the stereotypes and epic melodrama overall, but I did like seeing Beah Richards and Diahann Carroll portraying smart and strong woman fighting against the system.

In Jamaica grieving the loss of her infant daughter, Kathleen Quinlan meets housekeeper Whoopi Goldberg and brings her back to the United States to work. Once there, Goldberg is an unwelcome sight to Quinlan’s young son, Neil Patrick Harris, but they soon develop a bond stronger than any other in the family. The parental characters are quite awful people, both caught up in their own drama to the point where they essentially ignore their son’s desires completely. Luckily Goldberg is divine and together with Harris in his first film role make for an endearing duo.