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Dangerous Game -
Celebrated indie filmmaker Eddie Israel (Harvey Keitel) heads to California to shoot his latest movie, Mother of Mirrors, an examination of a marriage in which the wife pressures her husband to abandon their formerly mutual sex-and-drugs lifestyle and seek the same kind of religious conversion she has experienced. Leaving behind his own wife Madlyn (Nancy Ferrara) and his young son, Eddie explains the impetus of his latest project in a series of behind-the-scenes interviews. Meanwhile, Sarah Jennings (Madonna), a TV actress, has taken the wife role in Eddie's film, and her first item of business on the set is to sleep with Francis Burns (James Russo), who is set to play her husband. Things go sour between the two players and their conflicts spill onto the set, adding even more tension to a shoot in which Eddie alternately bullies and cajoles his actors to elicit more authentic performances. Perhaps Eddie manipulates Sarah onscreen because he's ashamed of having bedded his "very L.A." star just minutes before his wife and son arrived early for a weekend visit. Eddie soon finds the existential dilemmas of his film seeping into his own life, forcing him to question the compulsive adultery he practices. One of the first movies overseen by the film arm of Maverick, the record label and media company Madonna founded in the early '90s, Dangerous Game was produced by the singer's longtime manager, Freddy de Mann, alongside Mary E. Kane, who produced several earlier Ferrara efforts. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
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The Bat -
This fourth film version of the Mary Roberts Rinehart-Avery Hopwood stage chestnut The Bat is so old-fashioned in its execution that one might suspect it was intended as "camp" (though that phrase wasn't in common usage in 1959). Agnes Moorehead plays mystery novelist Cornelia Van Gorder, whose remote mansion is the scene for all sorts of diabolical goings-on. The "maguffin" is a million dollars' worth of securities, hidden away somewhere in the huge and foreboding estate. Vincent Price is seen committing a murder early on-but he's not the film's principal villain. Others in the cast include Gavin Gordon as an overly diligent detective, and former Our Gang star Darla Hood as a murder victim. The Bat was adapted for the screen by its director Crane Wilbur, himself a prolific "old dark house" scenarist and playright. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Best of W.C. Fields - B&W Dolby
Includes:The Golf Specialist (1930) The Dentist (1932) The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) The Golf Specialist No synopsis available. The Dentist W.C. Fields stars as the subject of this classic comedy short, which he also wrote the screenplay for. The dentist is a misanthropic, absent-minded sort who keeps an office in the same house that he shares with his rebellious young daughter. One morning she announces that she has fallen in love with Arthur, the iceman. Fields won't have it, and scares the poor Romeo off when he tries to make his daily "delivery." The hubbub makes him late for his golf game. When he tees off, the ball knocks an elderly man out cold but he plays through regardless, trying to cheat wherever possible. Frustrated by a particularly difficult hole, Fields loses his temper and tosses all of his clubs (and the caddy) into a water trap. Back at the office, the dentist locks his daughter in her room to prevent her from eloping with the iceman, and takes out all his frustrations on his patients (whom he refers to as "buzzards" and "palookas"). An attractive young girl naively bends over to show where a little dog bit her, a sophisticated society dame is driven into bizarre contortions while Fields sadistically drills, and a strange "little fella" ends up with a mouth full of broken teeth and birds in his beard. Through it all, the dentist treats everyone with disdain, but his well-deserved comeuppance is on the way. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi The Fatal Glass of Beer The short comedy The Fatal Glass of Beer stars the legendary W.C. Fields as Mr. Snavely, a prospector who is awaiting the return of his prodigal son, Chester, who has been in prison for the last few years. The last time Snavely saw his son was when the boy consumed "The Fatal Glass of Beer," and set out to the Big City in order to pursue a hedonistic life. The film is meant as a spoof of Northern melodramas that Fields enthusiasts have come to regard as an almost surreal masterpiece. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
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Hurray For Huckle: Pickle Of A Pickle In Busytown -
Hurray For Huckle: Pickle Of A Pickle In Busytown -
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The Baxter - Widescreen Subtitle AC3 Dolby
A man with a "doormat" personality tries standing up for himself for a change in this comedy. Mild mannered tax accountant Elliot Sherman (Michael Showalter) is what he calls a "Baxter": the kind of calm, unexciting fellow who "wears sock garters" and "enjoys raking leaves." Loved by bosses and parents, Elliot is a perfectly nice guy. And that's his problem -- he's safe and pleasant, but not very interesting, so as a consequence he hasn't had much luck with long-term relationships, and more than one woman has abandoned him for someone more exciting. Elliot believes his luck has finally changed for the better when he becomes engaged to Caroline Swann (Elizabeth Banks), a smart and attractive editor at a successful magazine. However, a few weeks before the wedding, who should come back into Caroline's life but Bradley Lake (Justin Theroux), her high school sweetheart and, according to many, the great love of her life. Bradley quickly makes it clear that he wants to win Caroline back, and generally in such circumstances Elliot would politely step aside, but just this once Elliot decides to fight for the woman he loves. Elliot gains an unexpected champion in Cecil Mills (Michelle Williams), a frumpy but adorable temp employee at his office who encourages Elliot to develop a take-charge attitude, though the results aren't quite what he expects. The Baxter was written and directed by Michael Showalter, who also plays Elliot; Showalter was a member of the sketch comedy troupe the State, and also works with the comedy performance trio Stella, whose other members, Michael Ian Black and David Wain, also appear in the movie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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Dementia 13/The Killer Shrews -
Includes:The Killer Shrews (1959) Dementia 13 (1963) The Killer Shrews Ken Curtis, former singing cowboy and Gunsmoke's Festus, joined right-wing radio's Gordon McLendon in producing this hilariously bad monster movie about a horde of outsized rodents run amok on an isolated island. The creation of mad scientist Baruch Lumet (father of acclaimed director Sidney Lumet), the monster shrews (portrayed by collies in goofy rubber masks!) escape the lab during a hurricane and devour nearly every other animal on the island before seeking human prey -- including star James Best and girlfriend Ingrid Goude (1957's Miss Universe), who are stranded on the island by the same storm. The survivors manage to escape to safety thanks to some goofy contraptions constructed from trash cans. This one is best remembered by bad-film buffs for its tail-wagging canine stars and a multitude of famous names on both sides of the camera. Curtis and McLendon's companion film The Giant Gila Monster is slightly less ridiculous. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi Dementia 13 A young Francis Coppola was given the job of directing this moody low-budget chiller after begging producer Roger Corman for the opportunity to reuse the sets for another film which Corman was shooting in Ireland. The story centers on the dysfunctional Haloran family, who live in a state of perpetual sorrow in a spooky Irish castle. Still mourning the death of her young daughter Kathleen -- who drowned in the lake seven years ago -- Lady Haloran (Ethne Dunn) tortures herself regularly by visiting the girl's grave (when she's not shrieking and collapsing in anguish every five minutes). When daughter-in-law Louise Haloran (Luana Anders) loses her husband to a heart attack, she manages to conceal the body for fear of being cut out of Lady Haloran's will. To further complicate matters, a mysterious interloper begins prowling the grounds with an axe to grind... a very big axe. This enjoyable, quirky psycho-thriller is enlivened by Coppola's inventive camera setups, atmospheric locations and Patrick Magee's over-the-top performance as the leering family doctor. Despite some ragged editing (probably not Coppola's doing), this has relatively high production values for a spare-change Corman project. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
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Beat The Devil/My Favourite Brunette -
Includes:My Favorite Brunette (1947), MPAA Rating: NR Beat the Devil (1953), MPAA Rating: R My Favorite Brunette Just as Bob Hope's My Favorite Blonde (1942) was a takeoff on Alfred Hitchcock, Hope's My Favorite Brunette was a lampoon of the noirish "hard-boiled detective" school popularized by Raymond Chandler. Awaiting execution on death row, Hope tells the gathered reporters how he got into his present predicament. It seems that Hope was once a baby photographer, his office adjacent to the one leased by a private detective (played in an amusing unbilled cameo by Alan Ladd). While hanging around the p.i.'s office, Hope is mistaken for the detective by beautiful client Dorothy Lamour. She hires Hope to search for her missing uncle, and also entrusts him with a valuable map. Hope's diligent (if inept) sleuthing takes him to a shady rest sanitarium, where he runs afoul of lamebrained henchman Lon Chaney, Jr. and sinister, knife-throwing Peter Lorre. Both are in the employ of attorney Charles Dingle, who is responsible for the disappearance of Lamour's uncle. Escaping the sanitarium with Lamour in tow, Hope follows the trail of evidence to noted geologist Reginald Denny. The geologist is murdered, and Hope is accused of the crime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi Beat the Devil Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get uranium out of East Africa. Bogart's associates include pompous fraud Robert Morley, and Peter Lorre as the German-accented "O'Hara", whose wartime record is forever a source of speculation and suspicion. Becoming involved in Bogart's machinations are a prim British married couple (Edward Underdown and blonde-wigged Jennifer Jones). As a climax to their many misadventures and double-crosses, the uranium seekers end up facing extermination by an Arab firing squad. The satirical nature of Beat the Devil eluded many moviegoers in 1953, and the film was a failure. The fact that the picture attained cult status in lesser years failed to impress its star Humphrey Bogart, who could only remember that he lost a considerable chunk of his own money when he became involved in the project. Peter Viernick worked on the script on an uncredited basis. Beat the Devil eventually fell into public domain, leading to numerous inferior editions by second and third-tiered labels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Great American Western, Vol. 30 - B&W
Includes:Sheriff of Tombstone (1941) Bad Man of Deadwood (1941), MPAA Rating: G Sunset Serenade (1942) The Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944) Sheriff of Tombstone In this western, Rogers and his sidekick Gabby get into all kinds of trouble when they ride into Tombstone and find themselves mistaken for the hired gun and his assistant. The gunslinger was engaged to work for the mayor and for a time Rogers goes along with it. When he discovers that the mayor is a bonafide crook, the "gunslinger" becomes the new sheriff. When the real gunman finally moseys into town, a showdown ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi Bad Man of Deadwood A mystery man works behind the scenes in this tuneful Roy Rogers western in which the local theatre owner attempts to ruin the honest businessmen of Deadwood. Even the sheriff, Jordan (Monte Blue), answers to nasty Jake Marvel (Ralf Harolde), whose reign of terror forces the decent people to become outlaws themselves. Enter Bill Brady, aka Brett Starr (Rogers), a sharpshooter with Professor Mortimer "Gabby" Blackstone's (George "Gabby" Hayes) traveling medicine show. Although a fugitive from justice, Bill comes to the aid of the beleaguered citizens, discovering along the way that a trusted friend isn't quite who he claims to be. Roy sings his own and Fred Rose's "Sundown on the Rangeland", Rose and Ray Whitley's "The call of the Dusty Trail" and Jule Styne and Sol Meyer's "Joe O'Grady". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi Sunset Serenade Roy Rogers champions the cause of Easterner Sylvia Clark (Helen Parrish), who is in danger of losing her father's ranch to crooked land speculators. Roy tries to deal with the villains through legal channel, but they spoil things by resorting to strong-arm tactics. Making our hero's task all the more difficult is that the principal heavy is woman, one Vera Martin (Joan Woodbury)-and just try to catch Roy Rogers punching out a female! Despite stiff competition from the ineluctable Gabby Hayes, the film is slyly stolen by Onslow Stevens as a shifty lawyer. The musical portion of the program is ably handled by Rogers and his old pals, the Sons of the Pioneers (with Bob Nolan). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi The Lights of Old Santa Fe Roy Rogers saves Dale Evans from being hoodwinked by a rodeo competitor in this pleasant, and pleasantly tuneful, B-Western from Republic Pictures. Due to the mismanagement of old-timer Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes), The Brooks Rodeo is about to be gobbled up by competitor Frank Madden (Richard Powers aka Tom Keene), who also has designs on pretty owner Marjorie Brooks (Evans) herself. But when Gabby hires Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers as the new headliners, Madden and his henchman Ken Ferguson (Roy Barcroft) are forced to commit a bit of sabotage. With the aid of Trigger, "The Smartest Horse in the Movies," and radio announcer Marty Maizely (Lloyd Corrigan), Roy and Gabby manage to the goods on Ferguson and prevent Marjorie from marrying the sleazy Madden. Featuring earl
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Little Shop of Horrors - B&W Dolby
Perhaps the greatest movie ever shot in two days, Little Shop of Horrors was originally conceived as a followup to Roger Corman's black comedy A Bucket of Blood (1959). Jonathan Haze plays Seymour Krelboin, a schlemiel's schlemiel who works at the Skid Row flower shop of Mr. Mushnick (Mel Welles). Experimenting in his spare time, Seymour develops a new plant species that he hopes will lead him to fame and fortune. Unfortunately, the mutated plant -- named Audrey Junior, in honor of Seymour's girlfriend Audrey (Jackie Joseph) -- subsists on blood and human flesh. It also talks, or rather, commands: "Feed Me! FEEEEED ME!" Before long, the luckless Seymour has fed his plant the bodies of a railroad detective, a sadistic dentist, and a flashy trollop. Meanwhile, Mr. Mushnik, who has stumbled onto Seymour's secret, has inadvertently offered up a burglar (played by Charles Griffith, who also wrote the script and supplied the plant's voice) as a midnight snack for the voracious, ever-growing Audrey Junior. (When the plant blooms, the faces of its various victims are reproduced in its flowers.) Ignored on its initial release, Little Shop of Horrors began building up a cult following via repeated TV exposure in the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, it had attained classic status, spawning a big-budget Broadway musical (and followup feature film) in the 1980s and a Saturday morning cartoon series in the 1990s. Enhancing the original Little Shop's reputation was the brief appearance by star-in-the-making Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient (Nicholson is often incorrectly referred to as the star of the film, though in fact he barely receives billing). Much as we love Nicholson, our vote for the most memorable Little Shop cast member goes to the ubiquitous Dick Miller ("No thanks, I'll eat it here"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Over the Hill Gang - Dolby
Includes:The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970) The Over-the-Hill Gang One of the better and more diverting of ABC's first full season of made-for-television movies, The Over-the-Hill Gang was a low-budget Western with a gimmick: Get a bunch of elderly actors, known either for their leading roles in the 1930s, or for playing comic sidekicks (and Walter Brennan was a lot of both categories) through the 1950s, and put them together in a plot. The result was this enjoyable oater about a quartet of retired Texas Rangers (Pat O'Brien, Walter Brennan, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan) who take on the corrupt mayor (Edward Andrews) of a small Nevada town where O'Brien's daughter (Kris Nelson) and newspaper editor son-in-law (Rick Nelson) live. Jack Elam represents the bad guys' muscle with his usual threatening aplomb, and Andy Devine gets a lot of mileage out of his role as a corrupt, inept judge. The other surprise in the cast is Gypsy Rose Lee, looking radiant as ever, portraying an admirer of the former rangers, in what was her final screen appearance, and such familiar old faces as Myron Healey, William Benedict, and Elmira Sessions in supporting roles. When O'Brien and company realize that they're no longer fast enough to do the job with guns, they decide to use their wits instead, outsmarting and outflanking the villains. The pacing by director Jean Yarbrough (whose own career went back to the 1920s, and whose last film this was) is a little leisurely, but the script is fairly clever and it's a lot of fun watching the veteran actors chewing up the scenery, with Devine having the most fun of all in an unusual role as a villain. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again is a TV-movie sequel to 1969's ratings-grabbing The Over the Hill Gang, which told of a group of retired Texas Rangers rallying to save their small town from criminals. In the sequel, the gang --Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, and Chill Wills (Pat O'Brien, seen in the first film, is absent this time around) -- team up to rehabilitate Fred Astaire, cast against type as The Baltimore Kid, a one-time ranger who has become a town drunk. Astaire is restored to the job of marshal of Waco, while the other old-timers end up as his deputies. Harmless fun for an undiscerning audience, Over the Hill Gang Rides Again lacks the easygoing charm of the original film. Both Over the Hill Gang entries, by the way, were designed as pilots for an unsold weekly series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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