A donkey is born, named Balthazar, and cared for by four small children. The film follows this donkey’s life as he’s passed from owner to owner, accepting the changes and doing his work with little protest. His life is very often heartbreaking but he also experiences love. It’s a simple story, but it’s also very real, sad, and universal. 
After the funeral of magistrate and amateur sculptor Vincent Price, his diary is read and reveals that he believed himself to be possessed by an malevolent entity called a horla which led him to madness and murder, including his own suicide. It’s not my favorite Price film by far, but as always, he elevates any work he’s in. Here he’s a self-righteous do-gooder who is rather unprepared for the events that lead to his demise. 
Rex Harrison hires actor Cliff Robertson to play a prank by inviting three former lovers (Edie Adams, Susan Hayward, and Capucine) to his supposed death bed. When one of the women dies, the investigation reveals more complicity and secrets. It’s a bit uneven in tone switching from outright comedy to murder mystery on the turn of a dime. It’s still quite a bit of fun for anyone who can appreciate such a mashup with quite an appealing cast that also includes a young Maggie Smith as Hayward’s dutiful nurse. 
With the help of hired guide Robert Mitchum, Senator Kirk Douglas zealously leads a wagon train of settlers from Missouri to the untold wonders of Oregon. I’m not a huge fan of Douglas generally, but he perfectly encapsulates the fervent drive of a politician whom everyone quickly grows to hate. The rest of the cast, which includes the debuts of Sally Field and Sam Elliott in a tiny uncredited role, is capable but not given enough to outshine Douglas’s bombastic character. The film touches on some interesting themes for a Western (adultery, pregnancies resulting from same, child murder, hangings, mental illness) and it has a beautiful, natural setting, but otherwise feels like it’s trying to prolong a dying genre. 
In this big-budget epic based on the James Michener novel, Max von Syndow is a Christian zealot who drags his young wife to Hawaii to educate the heathens after an appeal by one of their converted princes. It takes the film a long time to even get to this point in the story and it’s quite a drag before they get to the islands. From there, it’s endlessly frustrating watching von Syndow’s fanaticism beat against everyone else he meets, especially the native population and his wife, even when they are on his side. The performances are rather good with strong appearances from Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, and Jocelyne LaGarde.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Effects, Special Visual Effects; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Music Score
When prince Vincent Price discovers the plague in one of his villages, he orders the village burned while kidnapping three of its residents to his castle. He invites the nobility to his castle to party and wait out the Red Death. He’s also a Satanist whose consort decides now is the best time to be inducted into his cult. The story is definitely bizarre and convoluted but Price, particularly as a villain, elevates absolutely everything he is in that I’m compelled to watch his films. The film is psychedelically colorful and there are so many expressions of the excesses of the nobility that it’s really a sight to be hold.
After finding his lady with another man, Jerry Lewis takes a job as an errand boy in a women-only boarding house. I’ve long suspected that Lewis’s comedy is generally not for me and this worked towards sealing the case. Mostly told in episodically, the humor is exceptionally rare and not worth the slog to find those points. The only thing going for the film, and it’s an extremely big thing, is the ginormous house setting. There is literally no fourth wall to be found and the action easily moves from one brightly colored room to another to another. It’s like a giant dollhouse and I find myself mesmerized by a still of it for a much longer time than the film held my attention.
Dean Martin plays a version of himself (a womanizing, heavy-drinking singer) who gets waylaid on his drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles by a mechanic Cliff Milsap and his song writing partner Ray Walston. Instead of subjecting his wife to the singer’s lecherous ways, Walston hires local waitress Kim Novak as a stand-in while trying to sell his songs to Dino. There are some really weird sexual politics in this film. Walston is abusively jealous before Martin even comes into the picture and is willing to thoroughly upset his wife than have her around an attractive, successful man. In the end both women show how much smarter and stronger they are when compared to the men, but they endure a lot of disrespect to get there.
This musical follows the life of Molly Brown, a Colorado socialite best known for her assistance during the evacuation of the Titanic. Debbie Reynolds plays the spunky title character. In the first scenes, she comes across as an over-the-top, goofy, backwoods yokel, similar to Betty Hutton’s hammy portrayal in Annie Get Gun. Luckily the story quickly moves on for the character and presents her steely, determination to getting what she wants out of life. The gorgeous costumes and Reynolds’s energetic portrayal are the best parts of the films. The writing and the music on the other hand leave a bit to be desired. The big event is only given a few minutes toward the end, with Molly’s bravery presented as a quick montage of her rallying her lifeboat-mates. There are more scenes of the character on the ship in 1997’s Titanic than in this one.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment
Hero Jason needs to avenge the murder of his family by the usurper Pelias, but first he must find the legendary Golden Fleece. Even with the help of the goddess Hera and a crew of the strongest, fastest, bravest men aboard the Argo, the journey is not straightforward and requires many feats of strength and endurance. I have no idea how accurate this is to classic mythology, but that matters less than the special effects here. There’s some incredible work to be seen from the giant bronze Talos to the flying Harpies to the incredible skeleton army. That last bit is so iconic that I recognized it immediately from the replica seen during my days playing Rollercoaster Tycoon. 