The Second Time Around (1961)

Notes: 5/18/11

Silly Western romance.

Debbie Reynolds is full of energy.

Thelma Ritter is fun in support.

Andy Griffith and Steve Forrest are dueling lovers of Debbie.

Everything works out fine in the end. Well made.

Director Vincent Sherman moved the action along swiftly.

Review: C

Debbie Reynolds exudes energy in this silly Western romance. Debbie is chased by two suitors while raising children from a previous marriage. Andy Griffith and Steve Forrest are the dueling lovers. Vincent Sherman moves the action along quickly as director and showcases the great Thelma Ritter as (who else?) Debbie's sly no-nonsense friend. Pretty well-made but pretty forgettable just the same.

Master of the World (1961)

Notes: 5/18/11

A bit campy, perhaps because of the cast.

Vincent Price as a nutjob. Of course.

Charles Bronson strangely cast.

Review: C

Vincent Price does what he does best, this time as a mad genius (aka nutjob) bent on using weapons to create world peace. Jules Verne story is a bit campy, but also colorful and fun. Charles Bronson seems a bit out of place in the hero role.

Something Wild (1961)

Notes: 5/17/11

Eye-catching Saul Bass credits.

Carroll Baker owns the early scenes of the film. Spare dialogue.

Ralph Meeker shows up and probably doesn't mean to do any harm. He's lonely and bruised too.

Dreary and drab, but offers surreal scenes like the museum dream sequence that stand out.

NYC location scenes do add a little to the enjoyment.

Review: C

Dreary, rather depressing tale of New York girl Carroll Baker who bears emotional damaged following a street assault. Soon after, Baker meets lonely drifter Ralph Meeker and the two unleash their emotions in brutal, often violent, ways. Too dark to really enjoy despite some fairly good performances. Depsite the promising premise, the film offers the viewer few challenges.

The Naked Edge (1961)

Notes: 5/17/11

Flashy opening credits.

Written by Joseph Stefano.

Gary Cooper's last movie.

Nice cinematography.

Lots of quiet toward the end. Only sound is the music on television.

Adds to suspense.

Typically stalwart British cast.

Uninteresting. Nothing really exciting.

Review: C

British suspense film traps Gary Cooper and Deborah Kerr in a rather uninteresting story of Kerr suspecting Cooper of murder. Director Michael Anderson creates a thrilling atmosphere, but can't hide a mundane script. Kerr's fright and suspicion were put to greater use in The Innocents. Cooper's last film is a pretty forgettable entry in his career.

The Outsider (1961)

Notes: 5/17/11

Tony Curtis in Native American make-up

Delbert Mann directs

Sorenson and Hayes holding each other on the battlefield. Touching.

Definitely one of Tony's best performances.

Memorian dedication scene is great.

Kind of a downer ending.

Review: C+

Tony Curtis gives an emotional performance as Ira Hayes, the Native-American soldier who takes part in the flag-raising at Iwo Jima and spirals into alcoholism upon returning from the war. A bit of a downer, but worth seeing for Curtis in an atypical role.

Paris Blues (1961)

Notes: 5/4/11

Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward! Mega-stars.

Louis Armstrong appears in a character role.

Diahann Carroll plays Joanne's friend.

American jazz-lovers enjoying the jazz flavor in Paris.

Romance quickly blossoms between each couple.

Despite the cast, the music by Duke Ellington is the real star.

Terrific direction of the music scenes. Such great music.

Review: B

Americans Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier are struggling blues musicians in 60s Paris who meet vacationing fellow Americans Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll. Sparks fly like jazz beats when the four pair up and fall in love. Moody, authentic, and unglamourous black-and-white depiction of Paris is a great showcase for real-life couple Newman and Woodward. The performances and romance are swell, but its the terrifically directed sequences featuring Louis Armstrong and the scoring of Duke Ellington that make the movie special.

The Ladies Man (1961)

Notes: 5/4/11

Jerry Lewis lunacy. Seriously absurd.

Elaborate opening scene on a busy street.

Kathleen Freeman was an imposing figure.

Lots of girls! Big elaborate sets.

George Raft plays a gangster.

Strange set pieces. Jerry has a slight French style to his direction.

Rather strange and kooky atmosphere.

Lots of howling and chasing and assorted slapstick.

Review: C-

Jerry Lewis lunacy raised to the kookiest level. Lots of elaborate sets filled with girls, chase scenes, and assorted slapstick. Moves quickly despite not having a story or anything to really recommend, aside from the marvelous Kathleen Freeman. A Lewis misfire.

Parrish (1961)

Notes: 5/3/11

Glossy production. Delmer Daves directs. Max Steiner does the score.

Lots of connections to Susan Slade – Donahue, Stevens, Daves, Steiner, et al.

Claudette Colbert! Living legend on screen again.

Diane McBain and Colbert have a bitch-off.

Way too long and a bit too over-dramatic.

Colbert deserves much better and Malden is overheated.

Troy and his young actress co-stars are rather boring.

Review: C-

Yet another glossy soaper from the creative team behind A Summer Place. Unfortunately, this empty melodrama lacks the necessary spark to make a viewer care about any of these characters for over two hours. The presence of legendary Claudette Colbert, as well as seasoned actors Karl Malden and Dean Jagger, lifts the film above mediocrity, but the characters are poorly developed. Troy Donahue and the ladies that surround him are all pretty robots. Even the Max Steiner music is forgettable! A waste of time and talent.

Wild in the Country (1961)

Notes: 5/3/11

Elvis movies usually rely on great music or a seasoned cast to be watchable.

Lots of ladies! Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, and Millie Perkins.

Elvis offers a good performance. He was a good actor, as well as singer.

Certainly a good showcase for Tuesday Weld. Hope Lange was very pretty.

The ladies and Elvis each get a curtain call at the end.

Review: C+

Elvis gets to show off his fine dramatic acting as a troubled man who must undergo counseling as a parole requirement. Hope Lange plays the counselor who encourages Elvis to explore his literary talents. Tuesday Weld and Millie Perkins are local girls who attract (and distract) his attention. The cast is memorable, but the movie is not, despite a saucy showcase for Weld and a surprisingly complicated role for Elvis.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

Notes: 4/27/11

Seriously, a title song? Sung by Frankie Avalon.

Curious cast! Joan Fontaine and Walter Pidgeon with Barbara Eden and Frankie Avalon.

Irwin Allen directs. Eventually made Lost in Space and disaster films.

Fontaine reminds me a bit of Patricia Neal in this.

Peter Lorre shark-walking. Much amusement.

Pidgeon was a good actor without ever truly hamming it up.

Great supporting cast. Mostly silly antics.

Review: C+

Mostly silly Irwin Allen adventure tale in the tradition of Jules Verne's underwater adventures. Walter Pidgeon leads a submarine crew to prevent the Earth's radiation belt from exploding. A bit too far-fetched, but not without general good humor and escapist adventure. Appearances by a fine supporting cast, including Joan Fontaine and Peter Lorre, make the film sparkle well enough.

Yojimbo (1961)

Notes: 4/26/11

Artful, chic music lends itself to the culture and the era the film was made.

Opening credits. Following Sanjuro from below.

Great set design. The window shutters.

Awesome swordfights with severed limbs!

Widescreen framing is impressively cinematic.

The bad guy has a gun! Very creative for a samurai film.

Mifune has probably his best role here. “So long.”

Review: A-

Legendary Akira Kurosawa directs Toshiro Mifune as a samurai who comes upon a small town in the midst of a violent feud. Mifune plays Sanjuro, who takes it upon himself to end the feud by turning the two rival families against each other. Many colorful characters inhabit the town, but it is Unosuke, son of one of the rivals, who, along with his shiny revolver, creates the biggest challenge for Sanjuro. Artfully cinematic, powered by a chic fusion of Japanese-American music, and the tough, iconic presence of Mifune in the role he was born to play. Classic samurai and peerless filmmaking.

Francis of Assisi (1961)

Notes: 4/26/11

Finlay Currie plays the Pope. This guy was always an old man.

Dolores Hart plays a nun and became a nun in real life.

Lacks the dramatic power needed to maintain my interest.

Doesn't really offer much.

Review: C

Biopic of renowned Saint is mostly nice to look at, under steady direction from Michael Curtiz. Cast includes young Bradford Dillman in the title role and memorable appearances by Finlay Currie and Cecil Kellaway. Ultimately, the film lacks the dramatic power to be a definitive telling of the life of St. Francis.

The Comancheros (1961)

Notes: 4/13/11

Amusing opening duel. Stuart Whitman is fun.

Exciting music by Elmer Bernstein.

Last film of the great Michael Curtiz.

Not sure what to make of Ina Balin. Pretty, but boring.

Nehemiah Persoff is memorable. Great voice.

John Wayne sure had a warm presence.

Not really following the plot.

Film gets by on music, cinematography, and charming cast.

Review: B-

Exciting John Wayne western owes quite a bit to its Elmer Bernstein music score, as well as a charming cast. Stuart Whitman stands out alongside Wayne and Nehemiah Persoff proves to be a memorable villain. What is lacking in plot is made up for in technical achievements. A worthy swan song for legendary director Michael Curtiz.

Salvatore Giuliano (1961)

Notes: 4/7/11

The opening examination of Giuliano's body is memorable.

Hard to follow. It seems to jump back and forth in time.

I'm probably just an idiot, but I'm not sure what's going on.

The shrieking mother of the dead soldier is annoying!

The music is moody and strange.

Would probably be more enjoyable if I knew the history and understood the politics.

Review: C+

Italian docu-drama about the real-life murder of criminal Salvatore Giuliano and the specifics surrounding who killed him and why. Told mainly in flashbacks, the film requires the full attention of the viewer, as well as some grasp on the history and politics involved. Could have been more effective with a stronger narrative device and, perhaps, some narration.

Twist Around the Clock (1961)

Notes: 4/6/11

One of those snapshots of the world of rock & roll.

Not as amateurish or dumb as others of its kind.

Title song is catchy. Can't imagine the twist ever being popular.

The Wanderer and Runaround Sue are such good songs.

Dion is probably the film's highlight.

The film's plot is silly, but not entirely stupid.

Checker perform the songs and dances they originated.

Review: C

Yet another snapshot of Americana, this time depicting the rise in popularity of the dance craze 'the twist'. Not as amateurish or dumb as previous films of its kind. The opportunity to see Dion perform The Wanderer and Runaround Sue is reason enough to check this out. Chubby Checker also appears to perform his hit songs.

Fanny (1961)

Notes: 4/6/11

Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, and Horst Buchholz light up the screen.

Love the actress who plays Fanny's mother (Georgette Anys).

Charles Boyer is great in the scene with Marius's letter.

Nice movie. Sweet story. Charming in parts.

If Boyer got an Oscar nomination, then Chevalier should have gotten one too.

Beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff.

Review: B

Charming love story set in France about a pair of star-crossed lovers and the years of complications that prevent them from spending their lives together. Leslie Caron is lovely as Fanny, a young girl who transfixes the hearts of everyone in town. Despite the title, the film is just as much about Fanny's childhood love, Marius, played by handsome Horst Buchholz. Marius's yearning for a seafaring life dashes all plans for marriage to Fanny, causing Fanny's mother and Marius's father (a delightful Charles Boyer) to take charge of the situation, with the help of a very rich, and much older, Maurice Chevalier. The ensemble works very well together and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff is truly marvelous to behold. The film runs a bit too long, but is certainly a fine example of how to portray chest-ripping romance onscreen.

El Cid (1961)

Notes: 4/5/11

Overture score is quite sweeping. Preparing for battle. Something grand.

Miklos Rosza does the music. Genius.

Memorable shots throughout. Carrying the cross, Raf Vallone riding through town.

Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Maximum starpower.

Feels and looks very Italian, or am I imagining things?

Awesome swordfight. Lasted almost 10 minutes!

Sophia Loren = gorgeous all the time.

Review: B

Sweeping epic powered by a grand Miklos Rosza score and some superb action sequences. Story wavers in the mid-section deflating the grandeur from this otherwise expertly-made production. Sophia Loren is given little to do but look gorgeous and she handles that beautifully. Charlton Heston is reliably macho as the film's noble hero. Anthony Mann successfully directs, despite the uncharacteristic genre, particularly in the film's best scene: a nearly ten-minute swordfight between Heston and Loren's father!

The Young Savages (1961)

Notes: 4/3/11

Flashy opening credits. Talented director John Frankenheimer.

Burt Lancaster and Shelley Winters make this movie a must-see.

Shelley Winters as Mary diPace. Love it!

Murder of young boy, shot very tastefully, is still shocking.

Heavy subject matter. Racism, death penalty, gangs, juvenile delinquency.

Dina Merrill is pretty, but her role is a bit limited.

Well-made but not entirely effective courtroom drama.

Review: C+

Courtroom drama starring Burt Lancaster as a district attorney prosecuting three teenaged delinquents charged with the murder of a young Latin boy. Shelley Winters does well as the mother of one of the boys on trial. Film touches on heavy subject matter, like racism, death penalty, gangs, and juvenile delinquency, but fails to draw any satisfying conclusions.

Mysterious Island (1961)

Notes: 4/3/11

Opening credits are very exciting. Bernard Herrman does the music!

First half hour is a slow blend of Civil War, seafaring, and a slight British feel.

Suddenly – giant crab monster!

Awfully talky. The effects really do stand out to some degree.

Interesting female characters. British femmes.

The giant bumblebee attack in the honeycomb. Exciting stuff.

Review: C+

Good Ray Harryhausen effects can't compensate for a slow-moving, rather talky production. Giant crab monsters and killer bees make up the highlights in this Jules Verne adventure tale about castaways on an island inhabited by very strange creatures. Herbert Lom shows up as Captain Nemo, but none of that plot thread proves all that interesting. Viewers will likely find themselves growing impatient when the special effects are not the focus.

Flower Drum Song (1961)

Notes: 4/2/11

Glossy Universal-International musical production.

Nancy Kwan is very pretty. 'I Enjoy Being a Girl' is quite memorable.

Juanita Hall is my favorite as Madame Liang.

Very bright and colorful. Good energy and not too corny.

Great sets and costumes. All Asian cast is certainly groundbreaking.

Not the best of the Rodgers and Hammerstein ouvre, in terms of songs and story, but it has memorable moments.

Review: B-

Vibrantly colorful musical production features lavish sets and costumes, OK songs, and a few memorable moments. Notable for its use of an all-Asian cast, this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical may not be their best, but it's certainly entertaining and groundbreaking. Good energy throughout with Nancy Kwan stealing much of the film from the rest of the ensemble.