Category: 1960s

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A New Kind of Love (1963)

Paul Newman is a womanizing journalist; Joanne Woodward works in the fashion industry while sporting a masculine look (she repeatedly gets mistaken for a man). It’s probably not a spoiler to say that the story progresses pretty much how you’d expect from such a setup, including Joanne undergoing a makeover to be more feminine and ol’ Paul not even recognizing her as a woman he had met previously. Alas, the cuteness of Newman and Woodward together plus a semi-crush on Paul Newman means I couldn’t pass it up. Bonus points because for including Thelma Ritter who elevates movies even in the smallest of roles.

Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design, Color; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

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Harper (1966)

Paul Newman finds himself in a role that would have gone to Humphrey Bogart in an earlier age as a PI searching for a missing man whom everyone hates. It’s a bit meandering and predictable as the Harper character pieces together all the little clues, but Newman is convincing as the investigator who is smarter […]

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Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)

This movie is bizarre in a way that only seemed possible in the late 1960s-early 1970s. Six damaged characters interacting on an Army post in the south, the choice to have the entire film shot through a gold filter just adds to the feeling of oppressive sultriness that I associate with the South. The ending is completely whack-a-doodle, but may be worth watching the entire film just to experience its conclusion. The cast is quite stacked with Marlon Brandon, Elizabeth Taylor, Julie Harris, Brian Keith, and Robert Forrester playing five of the main characters and directed by the incredible John Huston.

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The Sand Pebbles (1966)

War films are generally not my thing, often overly long and filled with misguided notions. This film, about US naval patrols on the Yangtse River, was both of those things, but still held my interest through most of its three hour runtime. Steve McQueen and Candace Bergen brought their typical flair to their roles, though their romance felt forced. Richard Attenborough was incredibly sympathetic though a bit simple-minded as Frenchy, have a hard time getting used to him looking much younger than Dr. Hammond. I had a hard time figuring out the actual attitudes the film was conveying with regards to the Asian cast. Maybe it was trying to be accurate of the time frame of the setting, but at times, the film portrayed them as hard-working, moral, and quick learning while the white cast treated them and interacted with them in appallingly racist ways.  Best Picture Nomination  War

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Music Score

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Come Blow Your Horn (1963)

Frank Sinatra always looked like an old man to me. It does not help when in films like this he’s portrayed as a hip bachelor when he’s edging close to 50. To be fair, he does have a groovy bachelor pad, so it’s no wonder that his younger brother, played by Tony Bill, wants to emulate his life. Their parents, played by Lee J Cobb and Mary Picon, try to intervene and set both brothers on the straight and right. Throw in some beautiful women to woo and that’s all there is to this film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color

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Papa’s Delicate Condition (1963)

Almost entirely a showcase for the charming Jackie Gleason, this film, based on a memoir by silent film star Corinne Griffith, tells the tale of an early 19th century family who is exasperated by the delicate condition of their patriarch, that is the irresponsible acts he performs while intoxicated. Those acts include indulging every whim of his adoring six-year-old daughter. Glynis Johns plays his long suffering wife though the whole affair remains fairly light and gay.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

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The Americanization of Emily (1964)

James Garner is an extremely charming American dog robber working for a mentally unstable admiral, played by Melvyn Douglas, in World War II London. Julie Andrews is a semi-hardened driver for the military’s motor pool, who has seen too much death in the war already, but is still fascinated by Garner. It is an entertaining oddity to see a World War II film whose main character is an antiwar soldier and whose cowardice is what most attracts the woman who falls in love with him. There is a lot that is told with laughs and absurdity, but it never forgets the seriousness of war.

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

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The Scalphunters (1968)

Burt Lancaster is like the paperboy in Better Off Dead, except instead of $2.00, Burt is willing to do whatever it takes to get back the furs he’d been collecting all season, taken by a group of Kiowas and then stolen by the titular scalphunters. In the meantime, he’s been somewhat burdened with intelligent former slave Ossie Davis. Directed by the great Sidney Pollack, the film is tonally uneven, but the cast, including a menacing Telly Savalas and a spunky Shelley Winters, makes it worth the watch.

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