Betty Blythe

Average customer rating:

Gena Rowlands excels--as always
Count the Sniffs
Cold characters and bland plot make for a bad movie.
Emotionally wise and personally bold from Woody A.
Good beyond belief

Another Woman
Starring: Gena Rowlands , Mia Farrow , Ian Holm , Blythe Danner , and Gene Hackman
Director: Woody Allen
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

September
Interiors
Alice
Stardust Memories
Crimes and Misdemeanors

ASIN: B00005AUJI
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Amazon.com

This underrated film is by far Woody Allen's most satisfying I-wish-I-were-Ingmar Bergman movie, and in its elegantly constrained fashion it teems with imagination--not to mention a glorious cast. Gena Rowlands plays a philosophy professor who, subletting an apartment as a writing office, finds that the confidences murmured to her psychiatrist neighbor are audible through the air vents. In particular, the fears and desperation of a younger, very pregnant woman (Mia Farrow) trigger a stream of reveries regarding the professor's own life, past romances, and troubled family. Some of these seem to be straightforward memories (though we take too much for granted, and that's part of the point); others are theatrically stylized, with different actors taking over roles initiated by others (Rowlands sometimes appears in long-ago flashbacks, trading off with Margaret Marx as her younger self).

Allen had, like his protagonist, recently turned 50, and the sense of personal stocktaking here is much more compelling--and much less self-indulgent--than in a lot of his other films. Surely the magisterial presence of Rowlands made a big difference. She's in excellent company, including Ian Holm as the prof's tightly wrapped husband, Sandy Dennis as the dear old actress friend who hates her guts, and John Houseman as her widower father. Like Lloyd Nolan's in Hannah and Her Sisters and Keye Luke's in Alice, Houseman's turned out to be a valedictory performance. We cherish it--along with the inspired casting of David Ogden Stiers as, in effect, the younger John Houseman. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Writer/director Woody Allen delivers a powerful, "searing adult drama" (Leonard Maltin) examining the life of an accomplished philosophy professor teetering on the brink of self-understanding. Boasting a superb cast led by Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm and Gene Hackman, Another Woman is Allen's 17th triumphant film. Stylistically rich and technically expert, the film layers past and present, dialogue and narration, reality and metaphor, to achieve a "lucidity and compassion of an order virtually unknown in American movies" (Time). Intelligent, accomplished and happily married, Marion (Rowlands) considers her life fulfilling until a chance encounter with a troubled stranger (Farrow) offers her a brief but piercing glimpse at her inner emptiness. Drifting in a loveless marriage and denying her feelings for another man (Hackman), Marion is shocked when she accidentally learns of her husband's (Holm) infidelity. Taking this as a sign to change her life, Marionconfronts the true depth of her own emotional hunger and the frightening intensity of a passion shehas ignored for too long.

Customer Reviews:

Gena Rowlands excels--as always.......2007-05-28

Thoroughly enjoyable film with v. good performances. Gena Rowlands is always excellent and doesn't disappoint here. The gradual revelation of cracks in her marriage is well handled and perfectly believable.

Count the Sniffs.......2007-01-12

I love this movie, and have loved it for a long time. I have a little game I like to play during a certain scene--and this is only because Mia Farrow's performance does not thrill me. If you know the movie, find the scene where Rowlands finds Farrow crying in the antique shop. The game is: count how many times Farrow makes that sniffing sound with her nose before and during the ensuing dialogue. Some of the sounds are close calls, but I count 24 sniffs! Anyone else?

Gena Rowlands is a marvelous actress and John Houseman breaks one's heart in his dream psychotherapy session.

Cold characters and bland plot make for a bad movie........2006-12-18

I gave this movie an extra pity star only because I adore Woody Allen's work. Otherwise this movie would have recieved only one star. The problem with Another Woman is that the main character, Marion, is a shallow and boring person. Her life is so dull that she has to listen in on sessions with a psychoanalyst and his analysands. In the process, she learns that she is not as superior as she thinks she is, and has hurt people and pushed those that love her away. In the process she learns that she is lonely and has been depressed for a while. The plot is overly simple and the script at times is forced and trite. The acting is often corny and pretentious. Gene Hackman, a brilliant actor, does co-star in this movie but only has brief and often irrelevant scenes of dialog.
I do not suggest you purchase or even rent this movie unless you want to be bored silly. This movie is not in the same caliber as Interiors, which was brilliant and well acted. In Interiors I actually cared about the characters and felt sorry for them and believed that they were having realistic life difficulties. In Another woman I had almost no interest or pity for the selfish and mildly narcissistic main character. The supporting cast often displayed selfish and childish behaviors too, therefore cheapening the already tedius and banal plot. This is not typical of the usual highly intellectual Woody Allen movie, instead it is forced, rushed, and very simple. I do not suggest you watch it.

Emotionally wise and personally bold from Woody A. .......2006-09-10

This is a fantastic introspective, profound and bold film, that highlights a sensitive and deep aspect of Allen's milieu of mid-life dis-enchantment.
Multiple marriages, psycho-analysis, anguished family dynamics, all of the interpersonal Woody favorites are here, but not given way to laughs, instead to meditation.
Gena Rowlands-whose presence as the muse may be a significant reason for the films wonderful idiosyncracies-is Marion, a 50-ish Philosophy professor, who takes a sabbatical to write a book and eavesdrops on therapy sessions next door to her rented studio/workspace. The strife of this other woman propels her into herself, her past, family, marriage, friendships, and the like, ultimately resulting in a clarity essential for this mid-life crisis to pass, and for her work and passion to continue.
Thankfully Woody isn't in this, but Gene Hackman, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner, John Houseman, Mia Farrow-doing her damnedest Allen-film neurotics, Philip Bosco, Sandy Dennis, Harris Yulin, Martha Plimpton and others are, and everyone is terrific. No doubt because the writing is crisp, difficult and honest, and the direction moves from casually circumspect to dream-like and very theatrical.
For Woody Allen fans this is a must. A treat and a pleasure.

Good beyond belief.......2006-07-10

I took this movie very personally, found the beginning tedious, the middle painful and the ending joyous. I will keep this movie. Every actor in it (and it's quite a line-up of pros) was outstanding. Fortunately none of the reviews (that I read) gave away the ending or much of the plot. About the reviews. Houseman had more than one scene and many more than a dozen lines. The camera work was good enough (I don't know enough about movies to tell good from bad) I suppose, I found it a little labored, and was stunned by the triteness of seeing shots of the women's feet when one was hurrying to follow the other. Unlike another review, I did feel that a life-changing event had occurred and that things were going to be decidedly different, better for both the protagonist and others. Unlike the heroine, I'm turning 60, not 50, and I do not see 50 as old. But as the heroine said, 30, 40, 50 - she was told to expect to be overwhelmed by each of these birthdays and "traumatized" by turning 50. The woman said that despite these warnings, she was unphased by each birthday until she hit 50, and that that did traumatize her. I don't remember how I felt turning 50, but not much I don't think, nor much at any of the other ages. But sigh turning 60 has me down for the count. And I'm just taking up the violin. A thing I tried doing for a few months in college many years ago, but gave up. Now that it's "too late" to be anything more than a hobby, I feel greatly motivated. Enough about that. I doubt it will make you want to watch the picture. I recommend this movie without reservations. Allen's protagonist split an infinitive in one of the early scenes. But the rest of his grammar was good in this flick. For a pleasant change!

Average customer rating:

Best WWII "Pacific Theatre" film ever made
John Fords finest hour
Simply The Best
"NO MAMA-NO PAPA-NO UNCLE SAM...THE BATTERED HEROES OF BATAAN"
Love the Duke black & white Movies WW 11

They Were Expendable
Starring: Philip Ahn , Murray Alper , Leon Ames , Stephen Barclay , and Robert H. Barrat
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

All Titles | John Wayne Store | Stores | DVD | Video

1940s | John Wayne Store | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Operation Pacific
In Harm's Way
Back to Bataan
The Fighting Seabees
Flying Leathernecks

ASIN: B000F0UUJG
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Amazon.com essential video

They Were Expendable is the greatest American film of the Second World War, made by America's greatest director, John Ford, who himself saw action from the Battle of Midway through D-day. Yet it's been oddly neglected. Or perhaps not so oddly: for as the matter-of-fact title implies, the film commemorates a period, from the eve of Pearl Harbor up to the impending fall of Bataan, when the Japanese conquest of the Pacific was in full cry and U.S. forces were fighting a desperate holding action. Although stirring movies had been made about these early days (Wake Island, Bataan, Air Force), they were gung ho in their resolve to see the tables turned. They Were Expendable, however, which was made when Allied victory was all but assured, is profoundly elegiac, with the patient grandeur of a tragic poem.

"They" are the officers and men of the Navy's PT boat service, an experimental motor-torpedo force relegated to courier duty on Manila Bay but eventually proven effective in combat. Their commander is played by Robert Montgomery, who actually served on a PT and later commanded a destroyer at Normandy; James Agee called his "the one unimprovable performance" of 1945. In addition to giving it, Montgomery codirected the breathtaking second-unit action sequences (and took over the first unit for a week when Ford broke his leg). John Wayne's costarring role as Montgomery's volatile second-in-command initially looks stereotypically blustery, but as the drama unfolds--the death of comrades, a friendship-that-never-gets-to-be-a-romance with an Army nurse (Donna Reed)--Wayne sounds notes of tenderness and vulnerability that will take Duke-bashers by surprise.

They Were Expendable is a heartbreakingly beautiful film, full of astonishing images of warfare, grief, courage, and dignity: the artificial "rainfall" that lashes the beached Wayne as his PT boat explodes in the surf; the glow around a communally improvised dinner for nurse Reed; an old ship-repairer (Russell Simpson, The Grapes of Wrath's Pa Joad) settling in grimly to wait for the Japanese, with "Red River Valley" as benediction; the propeller spray that hangs over a jungle inlet, like the dust from one of Ford's cavalry pictures, as the PTs round a bend and disappear into history. This is a masterpiece. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Supplies are dwindling. Troops are hopelessly outnumbered. But even in defeat there is victory. The defenders of the Philippines ? including PT-boat skippers John Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and Rusty Ryan (John Wayne) ? will give the U.S. war effort time to regroup after the devastation of Pearl Harbor. Director John Ford's World War II tale knows its battle-scarred topic firsthand. Montgomery was himself a Pacific PT-boat commander and a valorous Bronze Star recipient. Ford filmed the Academy Award?-winning* documentary Battle of Midway. And Wayne creates a portrait of patriotic resolve as only he can. They Were Expendable salutes all who expended themselves during some of the war's bleakest hours. Director John Ford's World War II tale knows its battle-scarred topic firsthand. Montgomery was himself a Pacific PT-boat commander and a valorous Bronze Star recipient. Ford filmed the Academy Award -winning* documentary Battle of Midway. And Wayne creates a portrait of patriotic resolve as only he can. They Were Expendable salutes all who expended themselves during some of the war's bleakest hours.

Customer Reviews:

Best WWII "Pacific Theatre" film ever made.......2007-05-21

That's all there is to say about it. It's the best World War II movie about the war in the pacific ever made. Wayne, Reed & Montgomery never looked better. The supporting cast is perfect. It will break your heart and inspire you at the same time.

John Fords finest hour.......2007-05-20

I remember seeing this movie a thousand times on TV from childhood. I finally bought the DVD to see the entire film uncut. There has always been something special about Donna Reed and Robert Montgomery in this film. They are very much the same but the war forces them into very different roles. It was never lost on me that John Ford positioned John Wayne between them to show the contrast and simultaneously the similarities. It's certainly one of the most elegant films I have ever seen.

Simply The Best.......2007-04-16

Perhaps I can't improve upon the previous review which rated "They Were Expendable" as the greatest World War II made film, but as the son and nephew of men who served in the conflict, and myself a Vietnam vet, I would say that this is a poignant epic,-depicting war as it is,- brutal,-and yet bringing out the nobility of the human spirit.Robert Montgomery is representative of the dedicated commander-fatherly to ALL his men whether they are his senior or junior. The wonderful loyalty and cheerfulness of the Filipinos is touching.If someone who knew nothing about World War II wanted an insight about what the war REALLY was-then watch this movie FIRST! Again the greatest movie about World War II!!!

"NO MAMA-NO PAPA-NO UNCLE SAM...THE BATTERED HEROES OF BATAAN".......2007-04-15

...Famous WW2 saying/slogan for the stalwart defense of the Philippines, our Navy and Army defenders were forsaken, doomed and became prisoners of war by the Japanese war machine for over 3.5 years of inhuman captivity..."They Were Expendable"...a terrific WW2 movies central to the use of Motor Torpedo Squadrons [PT Boats]...John Wayne and Robert Montgomery excell and John Ford directs a resolute tale of WW2 courage...the two stars portray PT-Boat skippers who defend the Philippines and give the USA war effort the needed timespan to regroup after the crippling losses at Pearl Harbor and Clark Field, PI...great casting and inspiring music permeate with each changing scene...two heads/up about this movie: #1: Robert Montgomery actually saw action on active duty as PT-Boat skipper during the war and looks right at home in all of his scenes at the helm of PT-41...he easily generates leadership, the art of command and camraderie throughout this film [a given Ford trademark]....#2:...Donna Reed, after the American moviegoers saw her in action, her star rose like a meteor and established her as a leading lady thereafter, and justly so, did you ever see 'the perfect face' in her closeups??...whether under stress or just feminine happiness, it mattered naught...a classic face for eternity, simply beautiful...John Wayne was great as the XO despite playing John Wayne [himself] in all of his movies, this guy's persona was what made John Wayne so likeable, why tamper with his success on the silver screen...all in all a wonderful WW2 movie for the ages...Anchors Aweigh!!!......SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

Love the Duke black & white Movies WW 11.......2007-03-22

For sure this is a great one for your own safe keeping for years to come, great story of what a few men can do to try and shortin the war with plywood boats and make a great differance in the out come of the war.
I think this has it all, great story and plot. for sure buy this one, it's great.

Average customer rating:

Could rival Christie or Sayers

Murder at Glen Athol
Starring: John Miljan , Irene Ware , Iris Adrian , Noel Madison , and Oscar Apfel
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Lady in Scarlet
Wayne Murder Case
Mandarin Mystery
The House of Secrets
Shadows on the Stairs

ASIN: B00020X8Y8
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Customer Reviews:

Could rival Christie or Sayers.......2006-01-06

Bill Holt (John Miljan) is a famous detective. He is on vacation and borrowing a house on Glen Athol. He is invited and practically forced to go to a party in the mansion next door. A wickedly flirtatious girl Muriel Randel (Iris Adrian) tells him of all the skeletons in everyone's closet. She seems to be some sort of scamp that uses everyone including the detective. It seems to be an early night as the detective goes home to finish a book he is writing. The scamp is exhausted and goes to bead early. All is well.

Bang! Bang! Shots heard. That night the butler mistakes a nephew (guest) of being a burglar and shoots him. Soon other bodies are found and the simple minded police pin it on the nephew. Our detective without overtly playing his hand must find out the truth.

Be sure to concentrate on the first 10 minute introduction of the characters or you will get lost in the shuffle.

Watching many detective movies it is not hard to guess the whole story as it is thinly masked and hurried at 69 minutes. However it is fun to watch the story unfold before our eyes and a rather refreshing but not unique conclusion.

The film has the feel that we are coming in in the middle of a series. However there is no reference to a book or any other movie either this character. The Writer of the screen play, John W. Krafft, has a string of credits to his name for many other movies and TV series.

Average customer rating:

Murder is His Business
The Best Entry From THE CHANTOLOGY Box Set
Serial Villain Reunion
Among the Best of Monogram's Chan Films--But Still Best Left to Hardcore Fans and Collectors
Charlie solves an old murder

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Starring: Sidney Toler , Joan Woodbury , Mantan Moreland , Benson Fong , and Ian Keith
Director: Phil Rosen
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Charlie Chan in The Scarlet Clue
Charlie Chan in The Jade Mask
Charlie Chan in The Shanghai Cobra
Charlie Chan in Meeting at Midnight
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

ASIN: B00020X866
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Description

Number Three Son Tommy comes to the aid of a damsel in distress - by offering Charlie Chan's services - in this "top-notch whodunnit fare" (Variety) starring Sidney Toler and Benson Fong. LeahManning (Joan Woodbury) has never stopped searching for her father's murderer, although the police and the DA gave up long ago. And now, to add insult to injury, an "expert criminologist" has writtena "novel" accusing her mother of the crime! Charlie's investigation leads him to a cutthroat gang of gem thieves out to steal a wealth of diamonds hidden in a porcelain Chinese cat!

Customer Reviews:

Murder is His Business.......2007-05-24

A man is working on a chess game. Someone enters and fires two shots; Thomas Manning is found dead in a locked room. There are no clues, and the case is dropped. Miss Manning visits to ask Charlie Chan for help. A novel was written that accuses her mother of the crime. [There are jokes sprinkled in the dialogue for amusement. The prices date this picture.] A telephone call summons Chan to give him information about the murder. But a stranger makes sure he will tell no tales. Detective Dennis shows up, he was trailing Chan. They discover statues hidden away in loaves of bread. Chan talks to Dr. Paul Rechnick about his book Mrs. Manning was alone in the house at the time of the murder. Next they visit the murder room; there is a secret panel and door to another room. Somebody places a bomb in Chan's taxi, but Chan escapes this attempt.

Chan visits Wu San, the artist who created those hidden statues. There are gems hidden inside! When Chan visits Manning's partner they discover new facts. When this man is found dead there are no clues. Somebody uses a poison gas in their hotel room, but it is discovered in time. Three murders by three different methods seems puzzling. But Chan figures out a solution based on the wrong pieces for a jigsaw puzzle. Chan returns to the closed "Fun House" and is found by the criminal gang. After some adventures and threats (more comic than serious) the murders are solved. The last minutes explain the murders. One of the gang tried a double-cross, and this started the reaction.

The first pictures in this series were murder mysteries with some comic or witty remarks. This film has too much comedy to be a murder mystery, and too many murders to be a comedy. Yet the success of this series says they met the needs of the audiences.

The Best Entry From THE CHANTOLOGY Box Set.......2007-04-22

The 6 films in the box set basically concentrated on Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan joining the US Government during WII and solving mysteries involving weapons and other sundry items involved with the government. Due to the time era, Fox had dropped the series in fear of losing profits on the series and due to the anti-oriental sentiment at the time. B studio, Monogram picked the series up. "The Chinese Cat" deviates from the usual Chan films during this period and concentrates on murder and diamond smuggling with less emphasis on government projects. #3 son Benson Fong and sidekick Matlon Moore (portrayed as a very atypical stereotyped black person of era) are along for the fun and provide comic relief. Chan also has a few good one liners he delivers to #3 son. As most of the movies made during wartime were careful and cautionary, this outing is much more relaxed and entertaining and is more typical of the series prior to the war. I would stick with the pre-war movies (most of them are now public domain and not available). But if you can get them, they are far more enjoyable. For now, we have THE CHINESE CAT for our viewing pleasure.

The best outing by Chan during WWII.

Serial Villain Reunion.......2006-11-10

I knew I was going to have fun with this film just from seeing some of the names in the credits. Cy Kendall was the king of the rackets in the first Green Hornet serial. Anthony Warde was Killer Kane to Buster Crabbe's Buck Rogers in the single Buck serial. And John Davidson, who has a nice turn here as two creepy twins, was the Ghost in one of the Dick Tracy serials.

Plus there's I. Stanford Jolley,who was in every single B-movie and serial ever made (well, most of them, anyway).

Chan investigates a locked-room murder, chases some McGuffins in the form of cat statues, and ends up battling the bad guys in a gloomy fun-house. A minor but enjoyable B-feature, and not so long that it overstays its welcome.

Among the Best of Monogram's Chan Films--But Still Best Left to Hardcore Fans and Collectors.......2006-10-31

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more popular films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.

20th Century Fox had regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1944, THE CHINESE CAT finds Chan beset by son Tommy, who has promised the step-daughter of a murdered man assistance; they are joined in the investigation by cab driver Birmigham, who is not overeager to be reunited with the Chans given that murder tends to follow in their wake. Indeed, there will be three murders, stolen jewels, and a carnival fun house before the killers are captured. Like all the Monogram Chan films, the plot is trivial and the script even more so; unlike the worst of the Monogram Chan films, however, it does have the occasional touch of atmosphere and moves at a respectable pace.

Sidney Toler gives a nice reprise of Charlie Chan in this film, but as usual in the Monogram Chan films Mantan Moreland (Birmingham) is the real scene stealer. Changing times have led us to look upon Moreland's brand of comedy as demeaning to African-Americans, but he was an expert actor and comic, and taken within the context of what was possible for a black actor in the 1940s his work has tremendous charm and innocence.

Fans of the 20th Century Fox series are likely to find Monogram's Chan a significant disappointment and newcomers who like the Monogram films will probably consider them third-rate after encountering the Fox films. Like other Monogram Chan films, MEETING AT MIDNIGHT is best left to determined collectors. Three stars, and that's being generous.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Charlie solves an old murder.......2004-12-06

Yep Charlie (Sidney Toler) is on the trail of a cold case murder. His nosing around invokes more murder and mayhem. There is even a closed-room murder. We know how it was done. But the question is why.

There are several overlapping story threads. And the Chinese cat(S) turnout to be sculptures. We get to see Charlie's number three son Tommy (Benson Fong) always putting his foot in his mouth and stumbling into trouble. However he can be pretty tough when the chips are down. The real comic relief is Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver (Mantan Moreland.)

Benson Fong was in several Chan's and acted well in over 50 films including Flower Drum Song (1961)

Average customer rating:

ONE OF THE TEAM'S BEST FILMS
Couldn't watch it all.
EXCELLENT MGM OUTING
ONE OF ABBOTT & COSTELLO'S BEST FILMS
A&C are in top form in this hilarious MGM outing.

Abbott & Costello in Hollywood
Starring: Bud Abbott , Lou Costello , Frances Rafferty , Bob Stanton , and Jean Porter
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Abbott, Bud | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Anderson, Warner | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Blythe, Betty | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Costello, Lou | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Dearing, Edgar | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Foster, Preston | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Rafferty, Frances | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Ragland, Rags | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Space, Arthur | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | VHS | Video

Slapstick | Comedy | Genres | VHS | Video

Simon, S Sylvan | ( S ) | Directors | VHS | Video

Deals Under $8 | Today's Deals in Video | Features | VHS | Video

Lost in a Harem
Abbott And Costello Meet Captain Kidd
The Noose Hangs High
Dance with Me, Henry
Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion

ASIN: 6301964276
Release Date: 1993-01-27

Customer Reviews:

ONE OF THE TEAM'S BEST FILMS.......2005-10-04

ABBOTT & COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release Date(s): October 5, 1945
Runtime: 83 minutes

Director:
S. Sylvan Simon

Producer:
Martin A. Gosch

Writing Credits:
Nat Perrin
Martin A. Gosch
Lou Breslow

Cast:
Bud Abbott.......Buzz Kurtis
Lou Costello.....Ambercrombie
Frances Rafferty....Claire Warren
Robert Stanton......Jeff Parker
Jean Porter.........Ruthie
Warner Anderson.....Norman Royce
Rags Raglan.........Himself
Mike Mazurki........Klondike Pete
Carleton G. Young...Gregory Lemaise
Donald MacBride.....Dennis Kavanaugh
Edgar Dearing.......Studio Guard
Marion Martin.......Miss Milbane
Arthur Space........Director
William Phillips....Kavanaugh's Assistant

Music by:
George Bassman
Ralph Blane
Hugh Martin

Cinematography by:
Charles Edgar Schoenbaum

Film Editing by:
Ben Lewis

Art Direction:
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration:
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by:
Valles

Assistant Director:
Earl McAvoy

Sound Department:
Douglas Shearer

Other Crew:
George Bassman.......musical director
Ralph Blane..........songs
Kay Carter.................associate costume supervisor
Ten Duncan........orchestrator
Irene.............costume supervisor
Charles Walter....choreographer

Plot Summary:

Buzz and Abercrombie are barbers who want to be talent agents. On one of their jobs, they run into a talented singer, Jeff Parker, and try to get him the lead in a movie musical. Fierce Hollywood competition makes it hard for them to become agents and gets them into all sorts of trouble.

ROUTINES & HILARIOUS MOMENTS:
Insomnia
Earplug
Bud teaches Lou to shave a customer
After the disappointing performance of this film at the box office, MGM dropped its option to produce more Abbott & Costello films.

Couldn't watch it all........2004-11-11

I hate to disagree with the other reviewers, but after about 40 minutes of this, I had enough. Perhaps it's me - but the double-takes and dopey songs just didn't do it for me.

EXCELLENT MGM OUTING.......1999-10-01

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO, GOOD FLICK, MGM. NEED SAY MORE

ONE OF ABBOTT & COSTELLO'S BEST FILMS.......1999-09-21

S. Sylvan Simon directs this HILARIOUS A & C feature. Bud and Lou play a barber and porter in Hollywood. Lucille Ball, Rags Ragland, and director Robert Z. Leonard appear as themselves. The film was originally titled "BUD ABBOTT & LOU COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD". This is a FUN film for the WHOLE FAMILY to watch and enjoy.

A&C are in top form in this hilarious MGM outing........1999-04-27

Although, not usually mentioned as one of their funniest, this picture cracks me up every time. The routine where Lou is trying to get to sleep is priceless. As in most of their early films, the boy/girl subplot is a bore, and there are a couple of sappy songs, but the laughs are generous.

Average customer rating:

"Gable's back, and Garson's got him!"
Mis-Adventure, more like.
They Just didn't get it
Garson puts the 'able' in Gable and this film
I loved this movie! Thought it was great!

Adventure (1945)
Starring: Clark Gable , Greer Garson , Joan Blondell , Thomas Mitchell , and Tom Tully
Director: Victor Fleming
Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | VHS | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | VHS | Video

General | Drama | Genres | VHS | Video

7-9 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | VHS | Video

10-12 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | VHS | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | VHS | Video

Blondell, Joan | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Blythe, Betty | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Crehan, Joseph | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Davenport, Harry | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Gable, Clark | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Garson, Greer | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Haydn, Richard | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Qualen, John | ( Q ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Totter, Audrey | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Tully, Tom | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Fleming, Victor | ( F ) | Directors | VHS | Video

Julia Misbehaves
That Forsyte Woman
They Met in Bombay
Hucksters
Any Number Can Play

ASIN: 6303014046
Release Date: 1998-09-01

Customer Reviews:

"Gable's back, and Garson's got him!".......2004-12-31

I am a BIG Greer Garson fan, and I think this movie was superb! I thought the chemistry between Gable and Garson was wonderful. I really believed every moment of this movie.

This film marks the only teaming of Greer Garson and Clark Gable. It was so good that I'm sad they didn't do more movies together.

This movie is all about a sailor named Harry Patterson (Gable) who finally decides to take leave in San Francisco. There, he meets the beautiful Emily Sears (Garson), a librarian, who seems very content with her life: single and miserable. After awhile, the two realize they love each other, and get married in Reno. But Harry can't fight his love of the sea, and he leaves his wife, not knowing when he will return.

I cry every time I see this movie. It's so heart-warming and real, despite the fact that it was made during WWII and times have definatly changed.

Don't forget to look for the part where Harry and Emily steal the chickens! It's funny to watch Greer Garson make chicken sounds!

This movie has a magnificent cast including Joan Blondell and Thomas Mitchell. A must see!

Mis-Adventure, more like........2001-07-23

Clark Gable was sure lucky that this mess of a movie didn't end his career, being that it was his first venture after returning from active duty in WWII. The main trouble with the movie is his attitude; for some reason, Metro tried to revive the style of the younger carefree Gable in this film, the sort of fellow he was in "It Happened One Night"--even Metro's memory was faulty, because that persona had already been replaced by the mature man of 1939' "Gone with the Wind". Here, he's just too old and had been through too much in real life (the war and the earlier death of his wife Carole Lomabard) to cavort around like he does in the movie, and with Greer Garson no less! I don't understand why the studio, having taken such pains to shape her image as a gentlewoman, had her buffooning around either. Check out the better post-war Gable of "Homecoming" and "The Hucksters", and leave "Adventure" on the shelf.

They Just didn't get it.......2001-03-02

...and neither did Leonard Maltin. This movie is better with each passing year... I think it is a pre-noir, pre-"reality" - psychological drama of intense beauty. Clark Gable stars as a staunchly confirmed sea dog, crew leader (called a bos'n) and womanizer who is totally unprepared to meet Greer Garson's character, who forever changes his vision of what is possible in finding love with a woman. Academy Award winner, and beloved character actor Thomas Mitchell ("Uncle Billy" in "It's A Wonderful Life (1946)") plays his too-sensitive-for-this-world sidekick, who becomes Gable's conscience, but at a price. The script of this drama is lyrically sublime, subtle and quite deep. The fire between the stars is evident and haunting. True 'soul-mate' love is the overt theme of this movie. Existence, conscience, and facing the pain and limits of life, so that you may truly pass into adulthood, are more themes explored here. I view this film regularly once a year and am always inspired by its deep message and raw powerful performances. This isn't your stock Gable. This is a bittersweet post-war love poem.(Really! E. B. Browning is quoted to great effect!) ***Gable's "Harry Patterson" has seen tragedy and loss (as had Gable himself, recently losing the love of his life, wife Carole Lombard). He is made restless in search of "it" which he believes only exists in the danger and perils of sea voyaging. He is sickened by the way shipwrecked people, alive and on edge, once resued, quickly become bored and lose that passionate awareness of their own lives. He is searching for that life where he stays excited and in the passionate present (probably true of many returning war soldiers in 1945). ***In Garson's "Emily Sears" he sees "it" for the first time in a woman's eyes. He is intrigued by her equivalent strength and wit, and simultaeously threatened by the risk of pain in losing her. Their love develops as a series of intense battles. She sees a "caged animal" and for the first time a man she might really respect, even though she feels he needs to be reached through all of his rebellion...and rescued. His actions are escapist (and make great movie scenes)...but sailing away to forget his new "queen," he finds things have changed and we know, as do the other characters, that it is the end of his former life ...even if he doesn't. "Emily" bravely allows "Harry" to figure it out for himself. She doesn't demand any change in him, instead she sends him off to find "it" and risks being without the man that she loves for the rest of her life. Her majesty the queen of MGM, Greer Garson, has never been lovelier. ***Joan Blondel is a juicy, ripe 'tomato'. ***Lina Romay makes an incredible "girl in distant port" and even sings a bit! ***Thomas Mitchell is the stand out support. He plays Mudge, the soul and conscience of the free spirited Gable and perhaps of the whole film. He brilliantly helps unite a lost sailor & seeker with what his heart truely seeks. Watch this film and let it be poetry... just let it play as you marvel at the writing and the actors' eyes. I predict that this movie is about to be rediscovered in a big way. ( By you?)

Garson puts the 'able' in Gable and this film.......2000-01-12

Being a fan of Greer Garson I found this movie amusing for its departure from her "Metro's Glorified Mrs." (her terms) standards, although Gable's performance seems uneven and the mutual lack of affection between the two actors in real-life is subtely apparent. The ending is a stretch for the Gable character, and altogether the script lacks in cohesion. Great individual scenes, however, in the library and in the country home. 3 stars for Garson's plot-rescue attempts and for outstanding bits of acting from supporting players.

I loved this movie! Thought it was great!.......1999-09-30

I just saw this movie and it left me wanting to see it again. Clark Gable plays a sailor that just looks for a good time at every port he sails to. He doesn't even realize that he fell in love with Greer Garson who is a librarian until the end. It made me cry twice and it was worth seeing even in black and white.

Average customer rating:

Federal Fugitives
Starring: Betty Blythe , George Carleton , Neil Hamilton , Lyle Latell , and Frank Moran
Director: William Beaudine
Manufacturer: Alpha Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

The Kovak Box
Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear
Banacek - The First Season
Cutting Class
The Rockford Files: Season Four

ASIN: B000P6R9DU
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Product Description

A secret service detective investigates the deaths of government men and a series of suspicious plane crashes.

Average customer rating:

Hawthornes's Immortal Novel receives poverty row treatment
Secret repentance kills the soul and the body
The Gish/Hanson Version Rules
Proves that comedy has no place in The Scarlet Letter
Colleen Moore and Alan Hale make it watchable...

The Scarlet Letter
Starring: Colleen Moore , Hardie Albright , Henry B. Walthall , Cora Sue Collins , and Alan Hale
Director: Robert G. Vignola
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
The Crucible
The Saga of Gosta Berling
The Cecil B. DeMille Collection (Cleopatra/ The Crusades/ Four Frightened People/ Sign of the Cross/ Union Pacific)

ASIN: B0000A0DTE
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Customer Reviews:

Hawthornes's Immortal Novel receives poverty row treatment.......2006-01-09

"The Scarlet Letter" (Majestic, 1934), directed by Robert G. Vignola, is the first sound screen adaptation to the immortal novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, set in 18th century Massachusetts, starring former silent movie comedienne Colleen Moore in what was to become her final screen appearance.

Filmed eight years after the silent MGM 1926 success that starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson, this sound adaptation differs from the earlier film in both continuity as well as production values. In the silent version, Hester Prynne (Gish), a seamstress whose husband is away at sea, meets the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale (Hanson), who falls in love with her unaware that she is married. However, she becomes pregnant with his child and after the baby's birth, she keeps Dimmesdale's secret that he is the father in spite of the punishment she must face. In the sound version, set in 1642, the story starts off almost immediately in which the viewer finds Hester Prynne (Moore), already a mother, holding her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms, standing in front of the congregation. She is on trial for having the child out of wedlock and because she refuses to name the father of her baby, for her humiliation and punishment she must wear the scarlet letter "A" over her bosom for the rest of her natural life. Henry B. Walthall, who plays Roger Prynne, Hester's middle-aged husband in both 1926 and 1934 versions, appears in the near beginning of the story while in the silent version, his character makes his appearance almost an hour from the start of the film. In the two versions, his character returns home from his long sea journey to find his young wife has beared forth a child that is obviously not his, thus, and to save face, decides to be known through the community as Doctor Roger Dillingwell. Hester, in turn keeps her husband's identity a secret, knowing that his avenge is to learn the father's identity. Moving forward to 1647, Hester's daughter, Pearl (Cora Sue Collins), now five, must face her own humiliation by being an outcast to the neighborhood children, who refuse to play with her, and being insulted by their mothers, unaware as to why she is being treated just as cruelly as her mother, who steps in on Pearl's behalf after one scene finding Pearl getting mud thrown at her by the other children. As for the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale (Hardie Albright), he silently suffers for being worshiped by his congregation, unable to confess to all, through a promise he had made to Hester to keep silent, that he is the one responsible for Hester's guilt, and continues to suffer until the climax.

While "The Scarlet Letter" in 1926 was intelligently made and still holds up surprisingly well today, the 1934 adaptation might have equaled the earlier had it not been for its low production values and very slow pacing. Some of the dialog spoken has good intentions and meaning, but then sinks with some unnecessary comedy scenes (mostly by Alan Hale and William Kent) and poorly spoken dialog that unbalances the continuity to the story. At times I wonder what it would have been like had MGM itself remade "The Scarlet Letter" with Lillian Gish reprising her earlier role, with possibly Fredric March or Franchot Tone playing Dimmesdale. Would it have been a failure or would it have been in the class of MGM's other literary works of that period, which include the 1935 releases of "David Copperfield," "Anna Karenina" and "A Tale of Two Cities?"

Personally, after seeing "The Scarlet Letter" of 1934 several times, which is currently a public domain title available through numerous video sources, I find it's real fault is its slow pacing, and sometimes the performance of Hardie Albright, whose character plays weak, but fails to bring forth the strong points to his character. Aside from the actors mentioned, the movie includes screen veterans William Farnum, Virginia Howell and Jules Cowles (who can also be seen in the 1926 version). Film buffs will delight into watching this rarely seen find, which did enjoy some frequent revivals during the early years of Cable TV in the 1980s, but others will find themselves falling asleep long before the movie is over. But steer clear of the Demi Moore 1995 "free adaptation.". To learn more about the Hawthorne literary classic, just read the novel. (**)

Secret repentance kills the soul and the body.......2005-06-09

This adaptation of Hawthorne's novel is not a masterpiece according to today's cinematographic art. But it is an essential historical document on how the novel was seen in these old years, and how the cinema worked : with no special effects and no computers, not even color. And moreover it is an essential film because the vision of the novel and of the plot is, though short and simple, extremely faithful. We hence have a full drama of impossible repentance imposed onto one sinner by the other. Repentance has to be public or it is not. We also have a drastic vision of the punished woman becoming the glorified person whereas the man who goes unpunished by society is tenfold more punished by his own soul and guilt. Punished to death. This is the very reversal of the puritan vision by life that thus appears as denying any righteousness to puritanism. The point on which this film is rather deficient is the vision of the child. In those days it xas not that easy to get a child to perform this role, the role of Pearl. It is slightly regrettable because the child is the real center of the novel, in spite of what some may think. She is the real heroin and the true winning victim. At this level there is some cynism on the part of the novel and this film renders it very well.

Dr Jacques Coulardeau

The Gish/Hanson Version Rules.......2003-04-03

I have seen two motion picture renditions of the Hawthorne classic, this one starring Colleen Moore in her final role and the 1926 silent classic starring Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. This 1934 film is very different than the silent version. The courtship between Hester Prynne and Pastor Dimmesdale that made up a major portion of the Lillian Gish version is skipped entirely. The absence of this background causes the scene where Prynne receives her 'A' to be less dramatic. Henry B. Walthall plays Roger Prynne in both of these films. As a Walthall fan, I was happy to see the silent star have much more significant air time here than in the 1926 film. Walthall is seen right from the beginning and his character is given the opportunity to explain his feelings more than in the earlier rendition. Roger Prynne "Chillingworth," who makes Hester promise not to admit to being his wife, almost shows sympathy towards Hester's plight. Still, Roger will not grant her request to leave Pastor Dimmesdale (played by Hardie Albright) to his own personal guilt. Roger insists on sadistically contributing to the adulterer's slow torment. As the other reviewers have noted, the Laurel and Hardy wannabe team of Alan Hale and some other guy really fall flat. It is not that humor was inappropriate for the Scarlet Letter. The silent film had Karl Dane as the dopey fellow who speaks to his prospective wife through a courtship trumpet only to get slapped for his "unbridled passions" when he steals a kiss before he leaves. This humor worked because it was subtle. Many of the early talkies offered comedy relief which was often excessive. The Scarlet Letter of 1934 is another example. Despite the silly humor, it is not a bad film. The acting is very good. It is just not an emotionally powerful film like the Gish/Hanson version.

Proves that comedy has no place in The Scarlet Letter.......2003-02-11

The very first adaptation of The Scarlet Letter was a silent picture released in 1926, but this 1934 version is the first to feature sound. That and the great disservice it does to the underlying story are its only claims to fame. The original novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most respected, best-known works of literature to ever grace the printed page, and this adaptation of that great novel is exceedingly strange. Certainly, The Scarlet Letter is a somber, contemplative story, but that is where it's all-too-human heart lies. The makers of this film, for reasons I fail to comprehend, chose to add comedy to the production, thereby producing one of the weirdest movies I have ever suffered through. With a length of sixty-eight minutes, it naturally glosses over much of the emotional and plot-driven wonders of the novel, but its own scarlet sin is the inclusion of a number of entirely purposeless scenes designed to produce laughs. I think I am safe in saying that The Scarlet Letter and comedy do not and certainly should not go hand in hand. We get only the most basic of outlines of Hester Prynne's sin and subsequent life bearing the scarlet letter. The casting of 20s flapper Colleen Moore to play Hester seems to be something of a mistake to my eyes, as I never really saw her as the Hester Prynne I have known fairly well for a number of years now. Arthur Dimmesdale comes across pretty well, although we have no sign until the very end of any of the self-flagellating punishments he inflicted upon himself as penance for the sin he was too cowardly to acknowledge. Henry B. Walthall reprises his 1926 role as Roger Chillingworth, but the depth of his own iniquity is never really laid bare, although we are privy to his plans regarding the unfortunate Mr. Dimmesdale. The child who played Pearl was very good, though, and helped make up for some of the larger faults of the other character representations.

Two things ruined this movie for me. One is the awful cattiness of the women in the community; early on, we are treated to a number of "in my day" or "they should have let us women take care of Hester's punishment" speeches; while those kinds of thoughts or expressions probably do apply here, there is far too much of it in the movie. What I really hated was the addition of a duo of dolts adding a Laurel & Hardy aspect to the movie. First they exchange smart remarks and the little guy finds himself supporting a heavy wagon on his back while his partner putters around interminably with a grin on his face, but later on the two become involved in a romantic triangle of sorts. The big guy takes it upon himself to tell the little guy's chosen sweetheart just how much the little guy loves her; he does this by whispering back and forth to her through a marriage trumpet-naturally, the rather undesirable woman thinks the big guy is the prospective bridegroom-this Three's Company-esque situation only gets worse when both men accidentally see a pair of her "nethergarments" lying about. This scene and these silly actors have no place at all in Nathaniel Hawthorne's remarkable story, and such inane, totally out-of-place comedy totally destroys the serious mood surrounding the Reverend Dimmesdale's overbearing guilt and Hester's praiseworthy steadfastness and struggle.

This movie completely fails to capture the passion and emotion of the story it proposes to tell. Without the needless comedy, it would be woefully incomplete yet watchable; with the ill-fated attempts at humor, it is hardly worth watching at all.

Colleen Moore and Alan Hale make it watchable..........1999-05-02

Colleen, more famous as a silent film star (Lilac Time, Ella Cinders), does the best she can with this dried out piece of toast of a movie. But to be honest, this just wasn't the role for her. In her last film, Colleen still has it, but Hester Prynne was not the role best suited to her talents.

Several comedic elements were added to a story usually known for it's depressing overtones, and there is a sense of "abridgedness" running through the uneven film. Produced in 1934, some of the uneveness and choppy style can be blamed on early sound film production, but not all.

Alan Hale is in good form as a comedic character, in a style he would use throughout his career. Other such Hale efforts can be seen in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", and "The Sea Hawk", both with Errol Flynn.

Colleen shines in just about anything, if you can find one of her films. "Lilac Time", "Ella Cinders", and "The Sky Pilot" are all good choices. Some of her best work was in comedies.

Overall, this isn't as bad a version of "The Scarlet Letter" as some make it out to be, but it is also not a masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

"Be careful where you spit, you may hit a sucker.".......2006-12-19

When the western "Honky Tonk" begins, con man and trickster Candy Johnson (Clark Gable) and his accomplice Sniper (Chill Wills) are about to be tarred and feathered and run out of town. When he arrives in Yellow Creek, Nevada, Candy doesn't exactly decide to go straight, but he does decide to go legitimate--keeping just inside the limits of the law. Opening a gambling joint called The Square Deal, he eventually becomes an extremely wealthy man. Along the way, he smooches the locals by giving generously to build a church. So while on one hand he fleeces the citizens with his gambling den, he also has a veneer of respectability through his reformist connections.

Candy (who's earned his name for the fact that he carries a package of sweets in his pocket and has supposedly forsaken alcohol) has a romance with Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner). Elizabeth naively hopes to reform Candy.

"Honky Tonk" directed by Jack Conway is pure fluff--there's nothing too serious here--it's just a light little romantic vehicle for Clark Gable and Lana Turner. There's a degree of dramatic tension involving saloon girl Gold Dust (Claire Trevor) that shields a degree of sexual undercurrents, and it's Gold Dust Candy runs to when Elizabeth refuses to allow his amorous advances. One of the most curious elements of the film, however, is Lana Turner. She's practically unrecognizable here as the sweet, dewy and naive Elizabeth. If you're expecting a traditional western, then there's a chance you'll be disappointed as "Honky Tonk" has much more in common with a melodramatic soap than a western. If you're a Clark Gable fan or enjoy watching Lana Turner in a role that doesn't depict her a slinky femme fatale, then it's worth catching "Honky Tonk"--displacedhuman

"Have you any idea what a gal like you can do to a gent like me?".......2005-07-05

Like a previous reviewer, I can safely say that the plot in this 1941 classic really isn't that important. The movie earns a 5-star rating for one thing and one thing alone: the amazing chemistry between Clark Gable and luscious 20-year-old Lana Turner in their first of four movies made together. "Honky Tonk" was a huge hit for MGM , thanks in part to their sensational ad/publicity campaign which included the oddly prophetic tag-line "Clark Gable kisses Lana Turner in Honky Tonk-and it's screen history." Also, Life's magazine with the Gable/Turner cover was one of it's top-selling issues of 1941.

Here's the plot for those who care: Clark Gable stars as "Candy" Johnson, a charming, smooth-talking con-artist who arrives in the gold-mining town of Yellow Creek looking for easy money. He meets Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner) and is instantly attracted to her, but she sees through his tricks and is reluctant to trust him. However, Candy discovers that Elizabeth's dad (Frank Morgan) is a corrupt judge and so they join forces. Candy builds a gambling house and a church(!), and becomes a respected leader in the community. He also wins Elizabeth's trust and love, although to avoid his sly tricks to get her into bed she gets him drunk and marries him. His former girlfriend "Gold Dust" Nelson (Claire Trevor) had tried to drive Elizabeth away, but in both the beauty and intelligence department she was simply outclassed by Elizabeth!

Elizabeth and Candy are very happy and Candy becomes very wealthy from his illegal schemes, and eventually it becomes too much for Elizabeth's father to take. When he's about to inform the town council about Candy's criminal activities, he's shot and killed by one of Candy's partners (who was acting without orders). Meanwhile, Elizabeth has becomes pregnant but loses her child after falling from her carriage. With his wife in a weak condition and the townspeople ready to lynch him, he finally realizes the error of his ways and decides to leave town. Elizabeth, though, won't let Candy's guilt destoy their once happy marriage, but it may be too late to save their relationship...

"Honky Tonk" is a very entertaining romance, and the supporting cast (Claire Trevor, Frank Morgan, Marjorie Main, Albert Dekker, and Chill Wills) adds a lot. It's no surprise that Clark Gable's wife, Carole Lombard, was suspicious and jealous during the filming of "Honky Tonk". The eleven steamy kisses between Lana Turner and Clark Gable in the movie offered a more than suggestive hint that the two might've been having a romantic relationship off-screen, although in her autobiography Turner denied this rumor. Although the main attraction of the film was of course Lana and Clark, I really enjoyed watching Claire Trevor play another "discarded girlfriend" role. I hope that MGM will release this and the other three Gable/Turner movies ("Somewhere I'll Find You", "Homecoming", and "Betrayed") on dvd. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!

GABLE AND TURNER.......2000-01-19

Never mind the story of HONKY TONK. It's strictly synthetic. Its gold miners and saloon toughs, its shady ladies and bad men are there only to provide a colourful Wild West background for more fundamental business. And that business is a series of sizzling bedroom scenes in which, in a variety of dress and undress, Clark Gable and Lana Turner make love. For Gable, this meant another Rhett Butlerish role - a sardonic, hell-raising rogue that kept him an irresistable box-office magnet. As for 20-year-old Lana, she graduated from sweaters to nightgowns; this was her best feature in her meteoric four-year climb to success. This Pandro S. Berman production from 1941 has Clark in top form as Candy Johnson; his charm in this should still make female hearts flutter; Lana Turner was graced with immense sex-appeal; here she proved she could act as well. Despite a certain lack of speed (it tends to ramble on and go nowhere) its sexy and lusty with good direction by Jack Conway. Gable is a heel and Turner is the beautiful daughter of corrupt judge Morgan in this western soap which is routine and predictable. Turner and Gable make an attractive team (they kiss 11 times in the movie!) Gable did a screen test with Turner when she was an amateur in 1938, he remembered she was awful & spoke her lines with "no feeling". By 1941, although still a starlet, she had learned a few lessons in the acting department. (Never a great actress, Turner nevertheless knew the tricks of the trade). Candy Johnson was a good role for Gable, even though the story inconsistencies at times make him look a greater sucker that the mobs he trims. Tough Claire Trevor does well in her difficult role as the dancehall girl and Marjorie Main is nigh hilarious as the lusty old widow; Turner never falters in her presentation of Lucy Cotton. Carole Lombard Gable was intensely jealous of Turner and made frequent visits on the set; tragically, she died the following year.

Very dumb, but the cast compensates.......1999-12-10

Potentially interesting plot of a gambler meeting an attractive young lady with both of them having his and her problems is absolute garbage on screen; not to mention it being boring, predictable, and so very unmemorable. Almost nothing is worth seeing here except for the teaming of Gable and Turner.

Average customer rating:

"A Beautiful Love Story"
A Piece of Art...
An odd, brittle melodrama
Unforgettable... An Exceptional Film
Enduring Classic, by fermed

Letter from an Unknown Woman
Starring: Joan Fontaine , Louis Jourdan , Mady Christians , Marcel Journet , and Art Smith
Director: Max Ophüls
Manufacturer: Republic Studios
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Blythe, Betty | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Christians, Mady | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Fontaine, Joan | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Freeman, Howard | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Jourdan, Louis | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Journet, Marcel | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Lovsky, Celia | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Sanford, Erskine | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Waldis, Otto | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

General | Drama | Genres | VHS | Video

Deals Under $12 | Today's Deals in Video | Features | VHS | Video

La Ronde
To Each His Own
The Earrings of Madame De...
Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) with Joan Fontaine
September Affair

ASIN: B000003O0Z
Release Date: 1997-08-25

Amazon.com essential video

"By the time you read this letter, I may be dead," reads aging bon vivant Louis Jourdan from a letter found in his tiny hotel room. With tousled hair and a tux tired from yet another night of meaningless flirtation, he's startled by these opening lines and suspends his preparations to flee a duel in order to read the history of a love affair that he can't remember. For the rest of the film we're transported to the life of Joan Fontaine's awkward young Viennese woman, who has been hopelessly enthralled by the dashing pianist ever since adolescence. For a moment she was his lover, the emotional pinnacle of her life but for the philandering rogue simply another fling in a blur of women passing through his bedroom. This was Max Ophüls's first personal project in Hollywood, and he injects this exquisitely stylish romantic melodrama (based on a novel by Stefan Zweig) with his continental sensibility. Both lush and restrained, the endlessly moving camera tracks, cranes, and circles around the characters while maintaining a measured distance. Fontaine delivers one of the best performances of her career, vulnerable and yearning without lapsing into sentimentality--and ultimately showing a hidden strength as she risks all for one more moment with the love of her life. Jourdan is genial and callow, an empty figure faced with the meaningless of his life and shamed with self-discovery. It's a sensibility more European than American, right down the empty gesture that concludes this sad melodrama. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

"A Beautiful Love Story".......2005-11-22

A lovely romantic story. I was delighted to find this movie on DVD format available now here at Amazon.A romantic movie to watch again and again.

A Piece of Art..........2004-08-04

I must say that there have been few movies (dramas) which have emotioned me so much as this work of art by master director Max Ophüls (credited as Opuls here)...only films like "Portrait of Jennie" or "Dodsworth"...this was another one-of-a-kind experience for me.

I had read so much about it, that I had to SEE it...so I bought this VHS here, at Amazon.com marketplace sellers, where I've always made great transactions & had very good overall experiences, especially when it comes to obtain, these "out of stock/print", kind of elusive gems.

Joan Fontaine gives what one can easily be, the most wondrous, poetic, performance, she ever gave, including "Rebecca" and "Suspicion"...Here she simply is at her very best, close to perfection...just as Jennifer Jones, gave (IMHO) THE performance of her career in the aforementioned "Portrait of Jennie". She convicingly grows from an "innocent" adolescent who falls deeply in love with an artist (Louis Jourdan), looking him, following him, listening to him, "in hiding", "in the shadows", quietly, living her life only "for/because of him"... although he's unaware of that. This obsession of hers with this man, reaches to a point where nothing makes sense to her without him. It's platonic love & adoration, taken to extreme limits, almost to the boundaries of insanity, yet so disarmingly naive and true!

Louis Jourdan is equally effective, as the debonair, devil-make-care, playboy, man of the world, pianist, who realizes too late, what has been going on.

Wonderful art direction, sets, mood, atmosphere, cinematography, narration...excellent "raccontos/flashbacks"...great camera work, gowns, period detail...everything is so right...especially the truth in Lisa's (Fontaine) very deep love for this man, who becomes the only reason of her life, of her "breathing", of her "existence".

Max Ophüls really made a work of art, out of this movie...which by the way, I read somewhere, had a similar plot than the 1933 "Only Yesterday", which marked the debut in the american cinema, of that gorgeous actress, Margaret Sullavan; although Ophüls' film, is by far superior...'cos it "trascends" the "Tearjerker" status; it has an ethereal quality all of his own.

Not since watching "Shadowlands" in March of this year, I had felt & been so moved by a film. Really, ROMANTIC, unrequited love, at his best. And I tell you, I'm not an "easy" person...in other words, I do not "emote" easily, and at the film's conclussion, I have no shame in admitting that I cried like a baby. It reached my heart & soul.

This film ought to be restored and released on dvd format, since it is one of the landmark films of all time. Although I must say the Republic VHS Edition, is decent indeed.

An odd, brittle melodrama.......2003-09-10

Joan Fontaine stars as Lisa, an odd, possibly mentally disturbed young woman who adopts a stalkerlike, lifelong fixation on a rakish concert pianist, played by Louis Jordan, who beds her then forgets her, leaving her with child yet still obsessed with her one true love. Fontaine's cockeyed performance may project more creepiness into the role than was originally intended -- her Lisa is a genuinely disturbing character, and her clumsy attempt at an Austrian accent (the story is set in late-19th Century Vienna) gives her lines that much more of a twisted feel. It's an odd film: Jordan's character is a complete cipher, and nothing in the script redeems either one of them, really. It's hard to tell what the moral of this melodrama may be, but it will definitely elicit a visceral reaction, either of repulsion or boredom.

Unforgettable... An Exceptional Film.......2003-08-13

"Letter From an Unknown Woman" is a touching, emotionally-involving movie about a
woman's life-long obsession with a handsome, charming musician who is truly not worth all of her
love and devotion. This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to lose yourself in
a whole other world--it's that engrossing. Joan Fontaine and Luis Jourdan are excellent in
their roles, and Fontaine is especially convincing as a woman hopelessly in love with
Jourdan (or the perfect man she imagines him to be). I agree with the previous reviewer
that the scene where she realizes for a second time that he doesn't recognize her is just
agonizing to watch. At 87 minutes, it doesn't drag on like many classic movies do.
Nothing is superfluous--every scene and line of dialogue is essential. I'll also mention that
besides the great acting and storyline, the direction and cinematography are also
exceptional. This is an unforgettable movie that is so overwhelming that it will literally leave you speechless. It's one of my favorite movies and I can't recommend it enough.

Enduring Classic, by fermed.......2001-10-13

Stefan Zweig wrote tales of obsessions (Amok, Royal Game), and this is one of his creations. The problem with obsessions as a theme of literature (an by extension, of movies) is that there is very little room for character development...in fact there is no room for development of any kind. The obsessed are to perish, consumed by their narrow, intense, cravings; thus obsessions lend themselves more to short stories than to novels, and indeed "A letter from an unknown woman" is based on a short story.

I had read the story as a kid, thinking I was as expert on matters of love which, of course, I was not. A few years after reading the story (and after experiencing love) I saw the film "A Letter..." and I was shocked. For one, I understood the story better, and was saddened by it; but in addition I gazed upon Joan Fontaine and became convinced that she was the most beautiful object in the entire Universe. I promptly fell in love with her and started hating Louis Jourdan, the sociopath who could have made her happy and did not. I saw the movie over and over, just to feast my eyes on Joan, and in the hope of a miraculously happy ending (that never took place).

Now, in what seems like a couple of hundred years, I revisited "A Letter..." and it still holds up. It is not as dramatic as when I was full of youth and hope, but the movie still stirs this old codger; and it does so strongly enough to allow me to recommend this dramatic tale, this fine classical film, to all who have not yet seen it.

Actress:

Actress

Actress