Two teams are building different railroads in 19th century America. One of them is completely lacking in ethical principles and tries to lay tracks on the other team's assigned area; this leads to a continuing conflict in which one of them tries to sabotage the work of the other.
The plot is a slightly monotonous succession of ploys from the bad guys against the good guys. If you do not believe that capitalism is an evil system, this film might make you change your mind. If the federal government were in charge of building railroads in the U.S., none of the troubles the plot depicts would be possible. There is also an implausible female spy who, despite being extremely indiscreet and an obvious informant for the enemy, gets to remain in her job as a secretary for the whole film. In the end, the filmmakers were apparently so embarassed that they did not even have the gaul to make the hero kiss her.
Rating: 32
Monday, September 30, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Rio, Verão & Amor (1966)
The romantic and musical adventures of a bunch of youths who live in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo pretends he is a millionaire and an executive (he is a chauffeur and a struggling bossa nova composer) to impress beautiful and upper-class Gabriela. Gabriela's friend Lolita is in love with Maurício, who sings in a rock-and-roll band and does not care about Lolita. Paulo's brother Pedro is a lifeguard who is getting engaged to Margarida, a working class girl who lives in a boarding house for young women under the strict surveillance of the owner Augusta. Both Gabriela and Maurício's respective fathers are executives in a big company (they do not say what their line of business is, or I did not pay attention) which is promoting a musical competition between bossa nova and rock-and-roll songs. Amidst all that, there is a French woman who is very despondent and tries suicide several times.
The script is sheer fluff, but the color cinematography and the locations in Rio give the film a very attractive look; some shots are really breathtaking.
Rating: 31
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
In Old Oklahoma (1943)
Reissue title: War of the Wildcats
The IMDB plot summary is correct and I transcribe it here: "Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner compete for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the favors of schoolteacher Cathy Allen." Written by Jim Beaver, email: jumblejim at prodigy dot net
This is a routine Western, though admittedly it is a little above average for Republic. The plot is beyond predictable, but it entertains nevertheless, though only mildly. Intrigue, fistfights, romance, a competition between good guy and bad guy, where neither is on the extreme of each category, and there you have it. The best thing of the movie is something which is not really there as an actualization, only as a potentiality: it is a certain quality of open-endedness, of infinite progression and infinite oscillation. The slightly abrupt ending suggests that the fight is not really over; ditto the inner fight that the leading female character experiences, which would make her switch male partners on and on indefinitely.
Rating: 39
The IMDB plot summary is correct and I transcribe it here: "Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner compete for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the favors of schoolteacher Cathy Allen." Written by Jim Beaver, email: jumblejim at prodigy dot net
This is a routine Western, though admittedly it is a little above average for Republic. The plot is beyond predictable, but it entertains nevertheless, though only mildly. Intrigue, fistfights, romance, a competition between good guy and bad guy, where neither is on the extreme of each category, and there you have it. The best thing of the movie is something which is not really there as an actualization, only as a potentiality: it is a certain quality of open-endedness, of infinite progression and infinite oscillation. The slightly abrupt ending suggests that the fight is not really over; ditto the inner fight that the leading female character experiences, which would make her switch male partners on and on indefinitely.
Rating: 39
Friday, September 20, 2019
The Last Command (1955)
Drama around the characters and events of the Texas Revolution, prominently Jim Bowie. He initially does not support the revolutionaries, but as he acquaints himself with the situation under president Santa Anna, he changes his mind. There is a romantic subplot with a young woman who is in love with him, and a young man who is in love with that young woman.
Watchable historical Western. The romantic subplot is annoying and unnecessary. There is a noticeable slant towards the American side, which makes it, rigorously speaking, a propaganda piece. A first look at the events may leave one puzzled with the insistence of making it a matter of Democracy vs. Despotism instead of Americans vs. Mexicans. On behalf of the movie, one might argue that the characters themselves may have believed that notion, perhaps out of self-deceit.
Rating: 47
Watchable historical Western. The romantic subplot is annoying and unnecessary. There is a noticeable slant towards the American side, which makes it, rigorously speaking, a propaganda piece. A first look at the events may leave one puzzled with the insistence of making it a matter of Democracy vs. Despotism instead of Americans vs. Mexicans. On behalf of the movie, one might argue that the characters themselves may have believed that notion, perhaps out of self-deceit.
Rating: 47
Sunday, September 08, 2019
Tonka (1958)
A young Sioux captures a horse and trains him. A fellow tribesman with a penchant for cruelty claims the horse for himself. Concurrently to that, a great confrontation between Sioux and Whites gathers steam.
Juvenile Western. As usual in this kind of production, violence is toned down. They couldn't purge it altogether, though, as the Little Big Horn battle is essential to the storyline. The film tries to depict both Whites and Endogenous Americans as essentially good intentioned as a whole with a few bad apples amongst them. The idea of centering a story about a human conflict on a horse is interesting; it steers the movie into a resolution which is preposterous from a historical angle, yet not entirely unsatisfactory from a dramatic one.
Rating: 45
Juvenile Western. As usual in this kind of production, violence is toned down. They couldn't purge it altogether, though, as the Little Big Horn battle is essential to the storyline. The film tries to depict both Whites and Endogenous Americans as essentially good intentioned as a whole with a few bad apples amongst them. The idea of centering a story about a human conflict on a horse is interesting; it steers the movie into a resolution which is preposterous from a historical angle, yet not entirely unsatisfactory from a dramatic one.
Rating: 45
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Red Garters (1954)
A newcomer arrives in a town in the Old West with the purpose of finding and killing the man who killed his brother. He falls in love with a beautiful young woman.
A musical comedy with Western setting and themes. It's a creative movie in its concept, and it is technically very well made, but the screenplay doesn't live up to its aspirations and the end result is a bit on the dull side.
Rating: 40
A musical comedy with Western setting and themes. It's a creative movie in its concept, and it is technically very well made, but the screenplay doesn't live up to its aspirations and the end result is a bit on the dull side.
Rating: 40
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
