During feudal times in Japan, before an honorable governor is exiled to a far away land, he urges his son to always be merciful to others. Years later, after the governor’s two children are sold into slavery and his wife into prostitution, his son finds it hard to remember his father’s lesson. The film offers […]
After the mute wife of a movie theater owner ‘dies of fright’, pathologist Vincent Price discovers an internal creature crushed her spine because she was unable to scream her fright away. He theorizes everyone has one of these creatures residing within them and names it the Tingler. There is a lot of silly terrorizing when the Tingler that was removed from the woman’s spine escapes its cage. The original run of the film included a couple of gimmicks including buzzers being attached to some seats in the theater to be activated during particularly tense scenes. While it’s unfortunate that that can’t be replicated for home viewing, there is a great scene with bright red blood flowing in an otherwise black and white film that just shines on a newer television. 
Henry Fonda visits his insurance company to borrow money from his policy to pay for his wife’s dental work. The employees there report him as being the same man who has robbed the office twice before. Fonda’s life, and those of his family members, spirals downward as he awaits trial and circumstantial evidence piles up against him. The claustrophobic pressure is palpable as there is nothing that relatable everyday man Fonda can do to clear his name even while he and everyone who knows him is certain of his innocence. There’s no great exciting action sequences in the film, but the acting and direction are thoroughly effective in their rendering.
This is the film I thought I was getting when I checked out the other Kon-Tiki movie. The impact of this one might be greater after seeing that newer film. This shows the actual footage from the expedition shot by Thor Heyerdahl and his crew. There’s a much more real sense of the danger and scope of what the group was putting themselves through versus the somewhat sanitized, artificial Hollywood-ized version seen in the narrative film.
Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features
William Holden is a Naval Reserve officer who has been called back into duty during the Korean War. After one mission where he was forced to ditch into the sea, he is called again to take on an even more dangerous mission attacking a group of Korean bridges. Grace Kelly is underutilized as his worried and disapproving wife. It’s a pretty average war film with not surprisingly, only a sparingly amount of Kelly. It also features an ever-hammy Mickey Rooney as a naval aviator who often crosses Holden’s path. 
Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects
Oscar Nomination: Best Film Editing
For years, I had seen this available to watch on Prime and passed it over, but I’m so glad I finally gave it a chance. In the vein of The Adventures of Robin Hood, a delightful Danny Kaye is the underappreciated minstrel of a band of rebels who masquerades as a court jester to infiltrate the usurper king’s court. Glynis Johns is given a rare opportunity to shine as a cunning, female commander in the rebel gang. It’s gorgeously shot in VistaVision. There’s a few songs, lots of slapstick, hilarious jokes, wordplay, and plenty of general hijinks. A special addition comes in the form of beautiful Angela Lansbury as the usurper’s daughter with Mildred Natwick as a witch and her collaborator. In all of Kaye’s filmography the only live action film I’d previously seen was White Christmas. I’ll be much more willing to watch his work after seeing this one.
I have always gotten this confused with Rio Bravo. Other than being named for the same river and featuring John Wayne, they have little in common. In the post Civil War era, Wayne is the colonel on the Texas frontier, tasked with protecting settlers from nearby Apaches. Complications arise when his teenaged private of a son is assigned to the post, followed by his mother and Wayne’s estranged wife Maureen O’Hara. The father-son relationship is reminiscent of Wayne’s role most recently seen in In Harm’s Way. The battles against the Apaches are engaging albeit a bit stereotypical. Despite my general like for her work, O’Hara’s character draws away from the story and is an unnecessary addition. 
Growing up in Chicagoland, these three shorts heralded the Christmas season, airing on The Bozo Show every year. Watching now is just full of nostalgia. The mid-20th century plastic-aluminum Christmas aesthetic is one of those that I really dig and these are brimming with it. The story of Hardrock, Coco, and Joe is told through a jaunty, yodely tune about a Chinese Santa Claus and his three little helpers. Suzy Snowflake is a more haunting song about the fairy who brings winter to us all. The well-known story of Frosty the Snowman is presented here with a be-bopping, bouncy flair. The first two are rendered in wonderful, simple stop-motion, while Frosty is traditional animation that isn’t all that far from the popular Rankin-Bass version. 
After World War II, ex-Army comrades Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye team up and become successful theater producers. After they meet up with the sisters of an old-Army buddy, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, the foursome travel from Florida to Vermont where they discover their old general trying to run a resort during an unusual winter heatwave. Set at a very similar looking inn, it’s somewhat of a companion piece to Holiday Inn. When the duo decide to host rehearsals at the resort to boost attendance, it offers the opportunity to present different renditions of the various songs from the earlier film. While it’s not one of my absolute favorite Christmas films, I watch it almost every year because the performers are really top notch and work well together. The fabulous VistaVision on the Diamond Edition DVD is gorgeous on my newer television. The colors look almost unreal. 
Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song
After a number of years, Barbara Stanwyck, at the request of her teenaged daughter and pretending she is more successful than she is, returns to the family she abandoned for the stage. Her arrival causes upheaval in her family who has continued their lives without her. Her husband has found a new love interest, her oldest daughter wants nothing to do with her, her other daughter wants to join her on the stage, and her son barely remembers her. The power of Stanwyck’s performance outshines the rest of the cast in what is otherwise a rather unmemorable film. What completely ruins the film for me is that every single character is left with an unsatisfying ending at odds with the desires they have expressed throughout the film.