The Comic Reviews "Stalag 17"

A common question asked about Stalag 17 is, “Did it come from a book?” No, it didn’t come from a book, but from a fairly successful play. But like many scripts that arrive in Hollywood, it received heavy rewriting. Perhaps the reason the movie envelopes audiences is the great care Billy Wilder took to make sure the authenticity of the camp was captured as accurately as possible. You can feel the texture of the shabby barracks with its weathered walls and mud-slogged yard. Your skin tightens with the thought of the cold the prisoners are huddled against. And very prevalent is the dark humor flowing from crass mouths struggling to find cheer in a cheerless environment. Wilder takes us to a situation so true-to-life that, when the story starts and character motivations are revealed, we’re also made prisoners of the stalag and unfolding events. He worked to keep an air of suspense amongst the cast as well by filming the movie chronologically. He hid a key plot element from most of the cast until the last few days of shooting. Wilder so masterfully maintained the illusion that more than half a century later, Stalag 17 can still take viewers back to a frigid WWII P.O.W. camp as effectively as when it was released. And just as effectively capture new audiences with its story. It remains one of the best prison escape stories of all time.

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Won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Black Swan"

I want to talk about the great actors in this film. In the title roles we have Tyrone Power, who’s flexing all of his muscles for the audience in the first ten minutes of the film, and Maureen O’Hara, who was often called “The Queen of Technicolor.” This movie would be worth viewing just for them, but we also have other huge talents involved. Laird Cregar strides forth as the legendary pirate, Henry Morgan. Cregar’s presence is very imposing; you half wonder if this film isn’t about him. A couple of villainous pirates are George Sanders as the oily Captain Leech, and Anthony Quinn as the one-eyed Wogan. In the role of Tommy Blue is Thomas Mitchell the great character actor. Mitchell became the first actor to receive the “triple crown” of acting awards (Oscar, Emmy, Tony). I could write at length about any one of these terrific performers. Most of them won Oscars, received stars on the Walk of Fame, and had terrific careers. To have them all working in a swashbuckling pirate movie, with model boat pyrotechnics, sets with garish details, matte-painted landscapes and spliced sunsets is a visual festival full of fun. The only way a modern movie could be this much fun is if they broadsided it with a CGI cannon. It’s well worth a viewing just to see how they did it back in the day.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Spartacus"

If you think you’ve seen Spartacus, it’s time to watch it again. The last time I saw it was on television during the ‘70s. It had been heavily edited to fit a two-hour time slot. When films were being selected in the ‘90s for restoration, it was discovered that not one complete print of Spartacus existed. Thankfully, many of those involved in the original production were still alive and participated in its restoration. One scene is still missing and is lost to the ages except for the sound recording. Watching the restored Spartacus was a treat. I relished all of the scenes I’d not witnessed before. Characters took on a new depth. The slave revolt on which Spartacus is based occurred over two thousand years ago, so a fair amount of creative license was used in the production of this movie. Still, all of the main players in this film were highly talented actors, each doing their best. Rather than outshining each other, they brought a living glow to the film. Peter Ustinov’s supporting actor Oscar win for his role as an obeisant slave merchant was highly deserved. His willingness to bend to money was not the only delicious portrayal of Roman society. Laurence Olivier and Charles Laughton’s adversarial roles in the Roman senate gave a fair representation of Rome as well. And I encourage you to see the three-hour restored version of Spartacus for the excellent screenwriting by Dalton Trumbo. Whether it was a commentary on his Hollywood blacklisting or something deeper, you can decide.

Received four Academy Awards.

The Comic Critic Reviews "One Million Years B.C."

I was tempted to do a review of One Million B.C. (1940) with Victor Mature and Carole Landis as it introduced Victor Mature as a hunky leading man. Carole Landis wasn’t hard on the eyes, either. What was hard on the eyes was its horrific special effects. Thankfully, the director did what he could to hide the rubber suits behind lots of studio shrubbery. With the help of Ray Harryhausen, the historically inaccurate dinosaurs featured in the 1966 remake of One Million Years B.C. were far better. (Please note the slight name change.) There still were real critters blown up large on the screen as in the earlier movie, but Harryhausen claimed he did this so that the audience would think the creatures were real. I don’t think anybody bought that explanation, but they did buy tickets. This is no historical drama. This is a caveman movie. A flick that’s guaranteed to show a lot of skin under skinned skin. It was the highly unrecognized wardrobe efforts of Carl Toms that produced one of the most recognizable images from One Million Years B.C. , Raquel Welch in a fur bikini, that would go on to be a pop-culture icon.