The Misfits<\/i> (dir. John Huston). I dropped it after about forty minutes; it might be more enjoyable if I hadn’t read of its history. The script spends too much of the time exclaiming how wonderful the writer’s wife is. Clark Gable looks like the celeb of the week on a kid show: hold the famous smile for awhile, now frown avuncularly, now cock an eyebrow as fan service for any mothers or grandmothers who might be watching.<\/p>\n
The Guns of Navarone<\/i> (dir. J Lee Thompson). More nuanced than typical war movies of the time. — Gregory Peck has one embarrassing moment: contained fury is not something he sells well.<\/p>\n
The Hustler<\/i> (dir. Robert Rossen). The sequel The Color of Money<\/i> (1986, dir. Scorsese) led me to expect a caper, not a damn sports-underdog story. I like caper movies.<\/p>\n
West Side Story<\/i> (dir. Robbins\/Wise). Did the dances look less absurd when it was new? — I’d never have spotted Rita Moreno, so much younger here than I’ve seen her before.<\/p>\n
The Comancheros<\/i> (dir. Michael Curtiz, John Wayne). Amiably standard Western fare.<\/p>\n
One, Two, Three<\/i> (dir. Billy Wilder). Funny script, but most of the characters are one-note; I get tired of the constant shouting of Cagney (as Coca-Cola’s man in Berlin) and Buchholz (as a fervent young Communist swept up in circumstance).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Misfits (dir. John Huston). I dropped it after about forty minutes; it might be more enjoyable if I hadn’t read of its history. The script spends too much of the time exclaiming how wonderful the writer’s wife is. Clark … Continue reading