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Lucy in Her Funniest Movie
Two years before I LOVE LUCY debuted on television, Lucille Ball starred in this hilarious movie opposite William Holden as a hopelessly incompetent secretary who is quite oblivious that the real estate office she works at is just a front for a bookie.Lucy was starring in the popular radio comedy MY FAVORITE HUSBAND at the time and she had made a number of successful comedy films, notably AFFAIRS OF ANNABEL and EASY TO WED, but she never had as good a showcase for her wacky innocence before like MISS GRANT.Alas, the video is now out of print and no DVD appears on the horizon but hopefully the movie will resurface.And let's hope Columbia uses a better print than they did for the video release, this one has several scratchy scenes of mediocre quality yet I am still satisfied for the chance at seeing this extraordinary comedienne in full bloom and on the eve of something really historic.

3.5 maybe
Lucille Ball stars as an inept secretary who is hired to work as the receptionist at a crooked real estate company -- this gal's so dumb she couldn't possibly figure out what the real racket is, think the thugs.However, her character has hidden talents, not the least of which is the ability to win a man's heart. (The man in question being William Holden, who's running the bookie joint behind closed doors.)A slight, but enjoyable screwball comedy.

Wm. Holden in Lucille Ball's funniest pre-I Love Lucy movie
If you were wondering why big Hollywood star William Holden showed up on a classic episode of "I Love Lucy," the answer would be this 1949 film.Lucille Ball plays secretary Ellen Grant, who is hired by a bookie gang headed by Dick Richmond, played by Holden, with the Civil War serving to set up the cute title.Miss Grant is supposedly less than bright and so the idea is she will serve as an innocent front for their real-estate office, while the real business happens in the back.The problem is that Miss Grant is not as dumb as she looks and she becomes quite concerned about the homeless.The next thing Dick knows he is promoting a low-cost housing project.Of course Dick and his cronies play with the books and steal all the money, leaving Miss Grant to take the rap.This farce is a perfect vehicle for Lucy and Holden, who had been making mostly westerns, shows he can do light comedy.Directed by Lloyd Bacon, a lot of the credit for "Miss Grant Takes Richmond" belongs to the writers, Nat Perrin, Devery Freeman and Frank Tashman who keep everybody loaded with crisp dialogue and flip remarks.Lucy also has some physical comedy gags involving construction equipment and mud.This might not be a great comedy but I certainly do not see much wrong with it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Feature Film-comedy    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Technically ambitious but artistically underwhelming, this 1961 epic by Anthony Mann (

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Reviews (61)

As pure spectacle, a feast for the eyes.....
Like Mann's other well-known feature, "Fall of the Roman Empire," El Cid has a lot going for it: breathtaking Spanish scenery and fabulously authentic set pieces, two very competent and attractive leads with Heston and Loren, and an interesting protagonist whose story is steeped more in myth than reality.
A Crime
It is criminal that this title has not had an American release.The junk that gets released, and this classic just sits.One part action, one part romance make this is a sweeping epic.The battle scenes, the cinematography, the acting--all top notch.Fans of Braveheart, Ben Hur, Spartacus, etc.this is a film for you.

Honor or Love? A tough question for Don Rodrigo!
"El Cid" (1961) was undoubtedly a great box office success and deservedly. In a time that had seen a decade of great epic movies this was a very relevant one.
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Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

Editorial Review

Rock Hudson became a beefcake star playing a self-absorbed, thrill-chasing millionaire playboy in the first of Douglas Sirk's glossy Technicolor melodramas. In a classic example of the wicked machinations of soap opera fate, Hudson's showboating antics kill the most saintly man in motion-picture history and stalk his newlywed widow (Jane Wyman), driving her into an accident that leaves her blind. The kindly attentions of a bohemian painter and part-time guardian angel help turn Hudson's life around, and he rejects his irresponsible lifestyle and dedicates himself to his new "magnificent obsession" of philanthropy and good deeds, meanwhile romancing Wyman in a sincere, soft-spoken voice and with a phony name. Read more

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Reviews (12)

More Than A Movie...
This is about a man laying hold of the greatest power in the world.In this film we see Rock Hudson undergo a transformation from irresponsible playboy to a dedicated, caring, passionate man with purpose.The supporting cast played beautifully by Jane Wyman, Agnes Moorehead, and Otto Krueger enriches the whole film.Douglas Sirk directed this masterpiece and of course, as usual, uses lavish color as he weaves a certain mood across the entire movie.I can't understand why no one in Hollywood can find it in them to make movies like this anymore.Especially in today's world, the message is even more relevant.This is a movie you will want to own and see over again.

The soundtrack is the best part!
The story is sentimental yet illuminating, and the acting is fine, but the most significant achievement of this film is its lovely soundtrack.Based on haunting themes by Chopin and Beethoven (the beautiful choral movement of his 9th symphony), the mesmerizing melodies of Magnificent Obsession deserve to be noted.
I can't believe people don't see what this movie is about!
Rock's guardian angelRead more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Novelist James Clavell wrote, produced, and directed this 1967 British film (based on a novel by E.R. Braithwaite) about a rookie teacher who throws out stock lesson plans and really takes command of his unruly, adolescent students in a London school. Poitier is very good as a man struggling with the extent of his commitment to the job, and even more as a teacher whose commitment is to proffering life lessons instead of academics. The spirit of this movie can be found in such recent films as Read more

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Reviews (70)

To Sir, With Love
Awesome Movie...When Nothing Else Will Do...Giving Your Heart...To Sir, With Love
Epitomy of "Class" - Sidney Poitier
An outstanding performance by Sidney Poitier in this 1966 film. Sidney stars as Mark Thackeray. An engineering job market hasn't panned out for him, and he somewhat reluctantly takes a teaching position in a working-class London high school. His students are out of control and must be tamed. Ultimately, we can smile wondering who learned the most - the students or the teacher.
Video purchasing was never so easy!
The product was delivered in excellent shape. The quality of the video is very good.Sound is clear.For a classic, it is sure to provide us with generations of insight. Arrival of video was on-time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tony health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, courtesy of the resourceful "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn), agent 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Read more

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Reviews (150)

Thunderball just isn't a good film. Period.
Any way you slice the pie, Thunderball is a lard-encrusted, margarine-filled meal of empty calories. It is a bloated mess with a pompous performance by Connery, its only saving grace a towering budget and an excellent John Barry score.
Thunderball
I'm not sure how it's never happened, but I've never seen a James Bond film. I didn't see any of them. I've heard of them of course, but finally while walking in a local library...I stumbled on this one and figured why not. Well, for my first James Bond experience I was pretty satisfied. It's a decent spy film, with some good action scenes and Sean Connery's burning charisma.
He's the best Bond!!!!
an't mess witht he Connary. He unbreakable baby!! You have to love the old school. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action / Adventure    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Well, John Waters might, if he ever had a big enough budget. A steamy "inside look" at the alternately sleazy and glamorous world of catfighting, backbiting show-biz starlets, this Hollywood hit from the bestselling novel by Jacqueline Susann is a high-gloss camp artifact--a time capsule (or some kind of capsule, anyway)--from the screwy '60s, when a broad was a broad, a bitch was a bitch (whether "her" name was Neely O'Hara or Ted Casablanca), and a "doll" was a prescription drug. These dames of whine and poses obsessed over their bust lines, booze, and barbiturates. The once-shocking and scandalous language and behavior of these Broadway babes has been eclipsed by Read more

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Reviews (172)

AWFUL
This terrible movie has singing!Bad singing, and lots of it!Overacted, trite, and BORING!All those good reviews, I thought it would be campy and cool, but it's NOT!

Valley of the Dolls
I have always enjoyed watching this movie, with so many great stars, some whom are no longer with us; never owned it on video, now I have it on DVD, great price too!! It was worth it.

20th C. Fox, What took you so long?!
You either love the movie or you don't. If you're a VoD lover, the Special Edition 2-disk release is worth every cent. The film is beautifully restored to its "Color by De Luxe" and Panavision widescreen glory. (My VHS tape is on a barge making its way to the Staten Island landfill as I type this). The second disk includes karioke renderings of songs along with several documentaries and featurettes (all listed above). My favorite of these is "Jacqueline Susann and Valley of the Dolls," which has generous film clips depicting the chain-smoking failed-actress-cum-bestselling-author speaking for herself and coming across as, more than anything, a highly committed and indefatigable professional writer (who used a different color of typing paper for each of her six drafts of the manuscript). It's easy to see how this no-nonsense, get-it-done schlockmeister got under skin the procratinating perfectionist and celebrity syncophant Truman Capote. (I was surprised to see no mention of their long-standing public rivalry anywhere among the DVD extras.)
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Reviews (9)

What airplae stuff
I thought the P-38s were great. I know the special effects were not up to current par, but the moview was made ove sixty years ago. I thought the acting was very good.

I Prefer the Remake, Which I Usually Don't!
I'm not the type of movie viewer to enjoy the remake of a film more than the orignal. But in this case, I'm going to make an exception.
The classic movie about a cracked up bomber pilot's ghost
A Guy Named Joe is THE classic movie about a cracked up WWII bomber pilot (Spencer Tracy) sent back from Heaven as a ghost to provide guidance, like a guardian angel, to a new pilot trainee who turns out to fall in love with the ghost's girlfriend (Irene Dunne).I think this is the only movie in which Spencer Tracy played opposite Irene Dunne, who was one of the classiest leading ladies of her time (The Awful Truth, Penny Serenade, Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Anna and the King of Siam, The Mudlark, etc.).
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Victor Borge was a master at combining two seemingly disparate elements: comedy and classical music. While the Dane's dapper dignity fit the image of "longhair" music, Borge undercut it with broad physical comedy, clever spoofs, and off-the-cuff wit. A pioneer in the field of live comedy recordings, Borge is nevertheless best appreciated on video, and Read more

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Reviews (21)

Great routines, but truncated recording disappointing
Victor Borge is as funny as ever in this 90-minute live performance. He is thoroughly engaged, very lively, and manages to deliver even his most common routines with such energy and humor that you feel as if you're seeing them for the first time.
Humor At It's Very Best
Always wanted to see Victor Borge perform in person but never had the chance. His timing and ability to communicate with the audience is remarkable. The real musical talent of Mr. Borge on the piano is woven into his performance for all to enjoy. He simply was one of the very best entertainers of his time.
A musical upstart - Excellent
Comedy with a difference. What!? No swearing????
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Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Performing Arts - Concerts    3. Spoken / Comedy / Radio Shows   

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thrilling, fun for kids, a hoot for adults
Keeping largely but not completely to the Robin Hood tales of yore, this Errol Flynn swashbuckler is a lot of fun but will strain credulity in ways that make for interesting father-son discussions.
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Reviews (16)

Bette Davis: the trashier, the better

Dysfunctional When Dysfunctional Wasn't Cool
This family is a mess,complete with lying,spouse-stealing, and incest, and Bette Davis' character Stanley is the worst of the lot. StanleyTimberlake has to be one of the most repulsive characters ever to make it to the screen. Bette Davis makes her believable, though. Olivia deHavilland is the good sister, refreshingly calm and sane amidst the turmoil. Her family consistently ignores deHavilland's character, Roy, as they obsess over spoiled rotten sister Stanley's "happiness." Bette Davis At Her Nasty Best
What other actress except Bette Davis could tackle such a totally unlikeable character as she does in "In This Our Life", and yet still keep the viewer riverted to everything she says and does? With her speciality being playing bitchy, manipulating Grande Dames Bette Davis has a field day in the role of Stanley Timberlake and through the course of this movie dumps her fiance, breaks up her sister's marriage, causes her husband to commit suicide, tries to pin the blame for a fatal car accident on an innocent man and finally succeeds in killing herself in a car accident. Too much plot for one film? Well when you sit down to engulf yourself in "In This Our Life", it all seems to have an almost logical flow to it, however incredible the proceedings may be.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Sometimes simplicity can be heartbreaking. So it is with Read more

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Reviews (28)

The Clock (1945)
This is one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching movies ever made. You are lulled into the movie from the beginning. I saw this on Turner Classic Movies the other night and was amazed at how beautiful it is. There is no swearing in this movie, no sex, no violence, just old fashioned romance and the display of the powerful need for love in human beings. Judy Garland is a great actor and it is directed well by Vincente Minnelli. Movies today are sick, perverted and immoral and they feed the moral decay of this once great nation. The Clock is a must see movie from better more hopeful days.

Sweet Wartime Romance with a Luminous Garland in a "Musical"-Feeling Non-Musical
A sincere piece of treacle just before the end of WWII, this 1945 romantic drama features a never-lovelier Judy Garland in her only non-singing role during her golden MGM years. Even though she is a talented enough actress without having to vocalize, she is in a movie that feels like a musical in its cinematic sensibilities - swooning romanticism, quicksilver plot turns and broad stock characters. That shouldn't come as a surprise since her then-fiancé Vincente Minnelli directed and Arthur Freed produced, both much better known for their musicals of the period. Still, they have made a sweet film with worthwhile stylistic touches such as the use of long zoom shots in maneuvering through the swarming crowds in the subway and train stations and the screen panning used in showing the mini-dramas of background characters we never see again.
Let's make a stop in the War!
During a very brief withdrawal a soldier will meet,woo and wed a girl before shipping out. A romantic drama typical of that age but with a striking message beneath the script. Follow your bliss before it may be late. Judy Garland is wonderful in this movie.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

The Somerset Maugham novel should be read by everybody at a certain age (say, early twenties), and this 1946 movie adaptation of Read more

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Don't cut yourself on the edge of your seat
Larry Darrell (Tyrone Power) is back from WWII with an insatiable desire to see the world, in search of himself and the meaning of life. Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) wants to marry, have children and build on the capitalistic advantages of post-war industry in the U.S. Like oil and water, the two ideas don't mix so Larry becomes an international "loafer" and to the delight of Isabel's self-absorbed uncle Elliot Templeton (Clifton Webb), she marries millionaire Gray Maturin (John Payne). It seems like a short and tidy story but this two-and-a-half hour epic had a 4-million dollar budget for 89 sets, 136 supporting actors and 16,000 extras.
Post war blockbuster

Thank you, The Razor's Edge
Thank you, The Razor's Edge.
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Reviews (44)

Five Stars Just Aren't Enough!
There aren't many films from any era that come close to being "perfect" (though that's not really the right word) in just about every way--probably you could count them on your fingers and have some left over.
The Way (we might like to wish)We Were
Friendly Persuasion (1956) is my favorite 1950s movie. It always reminds me of Fiddler on the Roof (1971) as both films have analogous existentialist values; questions of faith, meaning and test of personal resolve. Tevye the Milkman must face the challenge to his sense of self and traditional way of doing things, by the increasingly independent ways his three daughters go about selecting a husband. Jess Birdwell (Gary Cooper) and his family must face the challenge to their pacifist Quaker values by the personal demands of the American Civil War.
"I Will Not Harm Thee"~Can Family, Faith And Passivism Endure In Time Of War?
`Friendly Persuasion released in '56 is a life affirming tale of faith, family and passivism against the heartbreaking backdrop of the bloody American Civil War. Directed by William Wyler the film focuses on a small Quaker community in the South, more specially on one particular family in that community, the Birdwell's.
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Editorial Review

Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft had been playing their respective roles as Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, on Broadway for some time before director Arthur Penn (Read more

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Gripe w/DVD not Film
This incredible film takes you on a roller coaster of emotion, & hopefully, challenges any preconceptions of "limits" of persons with disabilities!
Every American adolescent should see this outstanding film
I am in awe of every aspect of this film. The screenplay is almost beyond compare. The acting by Ms. Bancroft and Miss Duke was of the highest merit. The directing and cinematography were both incredible. This is one of America's great achievements in film making. I will go into detail on a few of these points:
Still Powerful Acting Showcase for the Two Leads But Penn Also Deserves Acclaim
Even though Anne Bancroft had been toiling in execrable B-movies like "Gorilla at Large" for a decade, it took the cinematic recreation of her much acclaimed Broadway performance as teacher Annie Sullivan to establish her in the front ranks. Patty Duke, then a prodigious child actress, also recreates her stage performance in the overwhelmingly primal role of the pre-adolescent Helen Keller, the subsequent author and social activist who lost her sight and hearing at nineteen months old. Yet, none of their virtuoso acting overshadows the considerable contributions of director Arthur Penn in making William Gibson's play resonate onscreen in this 1962 film. Using deep focus shadows and compositions and off-kilter camera angles to magnify the intensity of the drama, Penn lends the true-life story even greater emotional impact.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows