Movie Review: Not As A Stranger (1955)

A medical drama, Not As A Stranger is a modestly successful story of ambition, combining character flaws, overheated emotions, and operating room dramatics. 

Lucas Marsh (Robert Mitchum) is a medical student driven to succeed, but he can barely afford the tuition since he comes from a poor background and his father (Lon Chaney Jr.) is an alcoholic. He gets by with financial help from his best friend Alfred Boone (Frank Sinatra) and the kindness of Dr. Aarons (Broderick Crawford). Lucas romances plain-looking Swedish nurse Kristina (Olivia de Havilland) after learning she has saved a handsome sum of money. They get married, although she only hopes he loves her. 

As he completes his studies Lucas develops a reputation as a perfectionist intolerant of mistakes and quick to judge and humiliate others. He is also genuinely interested in caring for patients and less obsessed than his classmates about getting rich. Upon graduating he accepts a position in the rural town of Greenville assisting the elderly Dr. Runkleman (Charles Bickford), gaining valuable experience although his marriage to Kristina grows ever colder. Lucas then meets the alluring and lonely widow Harriet Lang (Gloria Grahame), and is tempted into considering an affair.

The first movie directed by producer Stanley Kramer, Not As A Stranger adapts a Morton Thompson book into an engaging-enough cinematic experience. The emotions are often running hot and never far from the surface, but the plot offers a worthwhile drama filled with memorable characters, several medical crises, and crackling interpersonal dynamics. 

The 135 minutes of running time are rich with incident and rarely drag, the screenplay by Edna and Edward Anhalt providing a bountiful central character arc. Marsh's single-minded drive to become a doctor is fuelled by humble origins, but his inability to modulate, accept imperfections, and choose his spots lands him in repeated trouble. He has the smarts to apologize, but will need to confront his own fallibilities before properly coming to terms with the difference between idealism and success.

Despite the undoubted talent on display, the casting choices are dubious. Robert Mitchum (38 years old) and Frank Sinatra (40 years old) are too old to convince as medical students, and they lumber through the first half looking exactly like middle-aged guys not too interested in pretending to be up-and-comers. Meanwhile, Olivia de Havilland's Swedish accent randomly fades in and out. A smoldering Gloria Grahame and the supporting veteran actors fare better, while Lee Marvin has a small role as another medical student.

On several occasions Kramer takes his cameras into the operating room, and the surgery scenes are often tense and sometimes boldly graphic. Two crisp and humorous montage sequences effectively convey experience gained over the passage of time: the first as Marsh and Boone become residents and commence treating patients; the second when Marsh starts working as a small-town doctor. Not As A Stranger may lack scalpel sharpness, but comfortably meets the requirements to graduate.



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Movie Review: Dodge City (1939)

A sprawling western, Dodge City features Errol Flynn's first foray into the genre with a character-rich plot and many well-executed highlights. 

After the Civil War, the arrival of the railroad transforms Dodge City, Kansas, into a bustling but crime-ridden cattle trading hub. Adventurer Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) leads a cattle drive towards the city, and in subduing the dangerously drunk Lee Irving (William Lundigan), upsets his sister Abbie (Olivia de Havilland). Upon arriving at Dodge, Wade finds the town being run by corrupt businessman Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his henchmen, including the killer Yancy (Victor Jory).

The town leaders including Abbie's uncle Dr. Irving (Henry Travers) appeal to Wade to accept the role of Sheriff and instill law and order. He reluctantly accepts, and along with his sidekicks Rusty (Alan Hale) and Tex (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) starts cleaning up the town while working on thawing his relationship with Abbie. Wade finds support from local newspaper editor Joe Clemens (Frank McHugh), but Surrett will not quietly accept the challenge to his authority.

Most of the elements expected in a western ride into Dodge City, including the cattle drive, a reluctant lawman, the battle between good and evil for the soul of a town, tension between settlers seeking a peaceful living and cowboys intent on shooting up the place, showgirls and gambling tables, and finally a quite epic barroom brawl. Director Michael Curtiz and writer Robert Buckner throw in a streak of mean humour and a framing story featuring rail tycoons pushing the iron horse ever westward to open up more territory for trade and settlement.

Curtiz makes excellent use of bright Technicolor, and the chaos of Dodge City looks gorgeous, the mayhem, characters and sets popping off the screen. The stunt work is also stellar, including a jump onto runaway horses dragging a victim through the street, that anarchic brawl (an extension of the Civil War), and a climax featuring a train on fire. Backprojection is also cleverly deployed in a couple of dramatic action scenes, including a race between a train and a mail wagon.

The narrative is enlivened but also sometimes distracted by the wealth of characters. The opening act has trouble finding traction, as Curtiz bounces around to introduce the town founders, Wade and his colleagues, the Irving family, and Surrett, his cronies and victims, including the Cole family. The investment does eventually pay off, but as with the streets of Dodge City, an uneasy sense of too much going on threatens cohesion.

Errol Flynn combines a smooth persona with a stiff transition to the western milieu, an Australian playing an Irish character in the American west landing just a bit awkwardly. Bruce Cabot makes for a fine smarmy villain. Olivia de Havilland, in her fifth teaming with Flynn, is lively but underutilized, with Alan Hale hogging too much screen time for a sidekick role. Elsewhere the cast is deep in talent and familiar faces, including Ann Sheridan delivering a couple of kicky numbers as a saloon showgirl.

Buoyant and more than a bit disorganized, Dodge City captures the town's frontier spirit.

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Movie Review: Airport '77 (1977)

A disaster movie with a galaxy of stars trapped on a submerged airliner, Airport '77 is as corny as can be expected but also surprisingly well produced.

Aging tycoon Philip Stevens (James Stewart) invites high profile guests to travel on his lavishly outfitted private Boeing 747 en route to the grand opening of his home-based museum. Captain Don Gallagher (Jack Lemmon) is in command of the flight, while Eve Clayton (Brenda Vaccaro) is Don's long-time lover and in charge of passenger comfort. The guests include Nicholas St. Downs III (Joseph Cotten) and Emily Livingston (Olivia de Havilland), who first met in the 1930s and are reunited on the flight. Businessman Martin Wallace (Christopher Lee) and his neglected and perpetually drunk wife Karen (Lee Grant) are also on the flight, as are Stevens' daughter Lisa (Pamela Bellwood) and her young son.

In the cargo hold is a large collection of expensive art, and this attracts a band of thieves under the leadership of co-pilot Chambers (Robert Foxworth). Over the Bermuda Triangle the criminals release a sleeping gas to knock out Gallagher and all the passengers, and Chambers changes course, flying below the radar towards an uninhabited island. But in dense fog the 747 clips an off-shore oil rig, the plane crashes into the sea and sinks to the sea bed, intact but leaking. Gallagher has to keep the passengers calm and find a way to notify rescuers of the plane's location while the Navy and Coast Guard mount a search operation.

Directed by Jerry Jameson, Airport '77 arrived relatively late in the cycle of 1970s disaster films. By now the formula is overly familiar: collect a bunch of mostly elderly Hollywood stars, place them in peril, and play a parlour game of who lives and who dies before the credits roll. While everything about the film is conventional, the production values are well above average, yielding a mixed experience where the content is tired but the packaging is slick.

Disaster movies tend to work better in confined spaces, and the coffin-under-the-sea premise is appropriately claustrophobic and generates a real sense of danger, with water slowly seeping into the plane, and the passengers threatened with both drowning and asphyxiation.

The film's ambitions are reflected in a superior cast deep in veteran talent. Lemmon and Cotten are most prominent and get to run around the bowels of the cavernous plane and play the role of heroes. The likes of Stewart, de Havilland, Grant and Lee ensure that as irritating as the passengers are, they are good at being irritating. George Kennedy makes his obligatory disaster movie appearance, but this time is limited to a more minor role as a rescue coordinator. The special effects are decent for the era and have survived the test of time.

The final act transforms into a propaganda piece for the rescue capabilities of the Navy and Coast Guard, and although again the cheese factor is odorous, the execution is polished. Jameson keeps the pacing tight, delivering the drama in under two hours, and the final acts of tactical implementation, heroism, and late-in-the-day death are completed with requisite precision.

Airport '77 is definitely all wet, but enjoys its time in the cinematic tub.

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Movie Review: The Proud Rebel (1958)

An appealing post-Civil War western, The Proud Rebel is a family-friendly story of a father from the south finding both lingering resentment and the welcome of strangers as he tries to help his son.

Immediately after the Civil War, southerner John Chandler (Alan Ladd) is travelling north from town to town, looking for a doctor who can help his mute son David (Alan's real-life son David Ladd) talk again. The clever sheepdog Lance is David's close companion. In Aberdeen, Illinois, Dr. Enos Davis (Cecil Kellaway) suggests that a Minnesota-based expert may be able to help. Before John can set out again he tangles with rowdy sheep ranchers Jeb and Tom Burleigh (Harry Dean Stanton and Tom Pittman) and their father Harry (Dean Jagger) after they try to steal Lance. John is found guilty of instigating a brawl, but farm owner Linnett Moore (Olivia de Havilland) saves him from prison by paying his fine in return for John working her land.

John and Linnet establish a good rapport and David enjoys the stability of life on the farm. But the Burleighs are a constant menacing presence, seeking to drive Linnet off her land to expand their herding territory. Meanwhile, John is desperate to raise the money needed for the Minnesota trip, and an opportunity arises when a local dog breeder offers a lot of money to buy Lance.

A resizing of Shane to appeal to a younger audience, The Proud Rebel hits all the amiable notes. Directed by Michael Curtiz and well-served by a deep cast, the film carries enough edge to avoid sentimentality and despite a rather clumsy ending maintains focus on a shifting western landscape where the wounds of war are slowly healing. Often beautiful colour cinematography, making exquisite use of red skies and silhouettes, adds to the film's quality.

The character of John Chandler as a steadfast yet proud man dedicated to his son and seeking to avoid conflict allows all colours of society to swirl around him. Dr. Enos and Linnett represent the more mature residents of the north eager to help close the war chapter. The crude Burleighs are at the opposite end of the scale, condescending towards Chandler just as they are keen to chase Linnett off her farm. And Judge Morley (Henry Hull) who hurriedly convicts Chandler for his part in the brawl is somewhere in between: he offers at least a modicum of due process for a rebel from the South, and allows Linnett's generosity to trump the court's half-baked version of justice.

Alan Ladd delivers a stoic performance as John Chandler, a man who lives a principled life where resolute actions speak much louder than words. Olivia de Havilland slips easily into the role of the farm owner stubbornly holding onto her land and staring down the Burleighs, de Havilland displaying plenty of breadth to combine determination with lurking passion for a family. Dean Jagger and Harry Dean Stanton contribute suitably despicable villains, and Cecil Kellaway adds colour to the role of a Quaker doctor.

The triangle of emotions between John, Linnett and David resides at the heart of the film, and allows a warm glow to seep through the drama. John is still grieving the death of his wife and until he finds a cure for his son there is no place in his heart for any other quest, as much as Linnett is emotionally available. And young David is dedicated to his father and but also quick to accept Linnett as a mother figure, creating a conflict for John since moving on will mean tearing his son away from an essential new bond. The resourceful dog Lance is the glue holding David's life together, and John faces his biggest test when the sale of the dog offers a possible route to heal David.

On his search for a cure, The Proud Rebel will find conflict and resolution in unexpected forms, for both father and son.

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Movie Review: The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939)

A historical costume drama, The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex is a stage-bound talk-fest. Bette Davis delivers a powerhouse performance, but is severely undermined by an emotionally schizophrenic script.

The elderly Queen Elizabeth (Davis) is feeling old and lonely, but she is very much in love with the young and handsome war hero Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex (Errol Flynn).  As much as Elizabeth loves Essex, she recognizes his naked ambition and his desire to seize the crown for himself. Essex professes to also love the Queen, and does not hide his aspiration to be King, leading to a deep rift between them. Francis Bacon (Donald Crisp) is friends with both Elizabeth and Essex, but even he cannot arrange a reconciliation.

Meanwhile the young and ravishing Lady Penelope Gray (Olivia de Havilland) wants Essex for herself, while Essex's rivals Sir Robert Cecil (Henry Daniell) and Sir Walter Raleigh (Vincent Price) actively plot against him. A rebellion in Ireland under the leadership of the charismatic Earl of Tyrone (Alan Hale, Sr.) gives Elizabeth reason to again call upon Essex's military services, but healing their relationship will not be easy.

Directed by Michael Curtiz as a glossy and colourful adaptation of the play Elizabeth The Queen, The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex has very few sets, many exceedingly long scenes, and interminable dialogue that circles the same topics for eternity.

The plot hinges on whether or not the love between the Queen and Essex can survive his obvious ambition and her fierce determination to rule. And this point is debated endlessly, the laboriously long exchanges between them suffering from stunning emotional dissonance. Within seconds the two move from lovingly laughing and kissing to serious threats of treason and decapitation, and then back again. This whiplash-inducing pattern undermines any credibility in the characters and is repeated several times, the same themes on replay at the beginning, middle and end of the film.

Elsewhere there is an underdeveloped palace conspiracy to undermine Essex's power, an objective that he appears quite capable of achieving on his own. A brief sojourn into a battle in Ireland is laughably constrained to a small sound stage.

The fictional character of Lady Penelope Gray is introduced to give Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland another screen outing, but instead further erodes the narrative's integrity: de Havilland is stunningly fetching as Lady Gray, and the dashing Essex looking past her to expound love for the hideous Queen beggars belief. Lady Gray's actions should have also landed her neck on the chopping block within 20 minutes, but she somehow never earns the Queen's true wrath despite endless conniving.

What remains are plenty of lavish costumes and a Bette Davis performance that ages her about 30 years, with the ugliest possible hair and make-up combination. She owns the role and commands the film with the same ferocity Elizabeth demonstrated in bossing her country. In contrast all the other performances fade into insignificance, including a flighty Errol Flynn. He looks absolutely dashing in tights and fighting gear, but is simply too lightweight to convince as the Queen's lover and rival.

The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex may have been intriguing, but the film lands squarely in the stodgy zone.

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Movie Review: The Male Animal (1942)

A romantic triangle drama-comedy with a competing sub-plot about academic freedoms, The Male Animal is never exactly sure what it is and ends up being not much of anything.

Midwestern University is gearing up for the big football game against rivals Michigan. Bookish English professor Tommy Turner (Henry Fonda) has no interest in the frenzy of football-related events, but he is married to former cheerleader Ellen (Olivia de Havilland), and she wants to get into the swing of things. Ellen's ex-boyfriend and the school's legendary former quarterback Joe Ferguson (Jack Carson) shows up for homecoming week, and his immediate rapport with Ellen further sours Tommy's mood.

Meanwhile, the university administration under the leadership of Ed Keller (Eugene Pallette) is on a witch hunt to label professors as "reds" and weed them out. When the school newspaper reveals that Tommy will be reading a letter from deceased anarchist Bartolomeo Vanzetti as part of his next lecture, he is immediately dropped into a controversy about academic freedoms. With the big game approaching and his marriage comprehensively falling apart, Tommy has to reassess his life's priorities.

Directed by Elliott Nugent and based on a play, The Male Animal has a few good ideas, some witty dialogue, and a typically principled performance from Henry Fonda. The prescient look ahead towards a near future when thoughts are scrutinized and leftist tendencies signal career death is also commendable.

But the film suffers from an identity crisis and an overcrowded agenda. About half the story focuses on the Tommy-Ellen-Joe romantic triangle, while the other half is distracted by the seemingly more serious narrative about defining and defending academic freedoms. By the end of the film the muddled intermingling of the two plot lines means that neither is dealt with satisfactorily.

There are other issues that stand in the way of Nugent's success. Olivia de Havilland is simply unconvincing as a former cheerleader seeking to relive the fun times of youth. de Havilland comes across as too prim and proper, and other than reciting lines from a script, never genuinely reveals an inner fun girl wishing to break out. As the critical corner of the triangle, her miscasting fundamentally weakens the movie.

The Male Animal is also littered with poorly defined ideas and fragments of characters. There is yet a third sub-plot revolving around the next generation of students, including a young nerdy student following in Tommy's footsteps, a dim current member of the football team who idolizes Joe, and a couple of girls vying for their attention. This maybe romance among the young is never properly defined and is eventually unceremoniously discarded. Meanwhile, Tommy's character spends a long time drunk and dragging out literary references about how animal mating and turf protection rituals apply (or not) to human relationships. A drunken fistfight is thrown in for good measure.

The Male Animal is not devoid of points of interest, but it's a scattershot of poorly handled ideas rather than a cohesive package.

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Movie Review: Captain Blood (1935)

One of the original swashbuckling epics, Captain Blood offers an absorbing story about an English doctor turned pirate in the late 1600s.

It's the 1680s in England, and a revolution against King James II is underway. Doctor Peter Blood (Errol Flynn) is sitting out the rebellion, but is anyway arrested for treason while performing his humanitarian duty and tending to the injuries of a rebel. Blood is spared the death penalty and dispatched as a slave to Port Royal, Jamaica. He is purchased by Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), the niece of local military commander Colonel Bishop (Lionel Atwill). Blood puts his medical skills to use and earns some level of freedom by helping to treat the gout condition of the island's governor.

Blood and some of the other slaves including his friends Jeremy Pitt (Ross Alexander) and Hagthorpe (Guy Kibbee) start to plan an escape from the island, but their scheming is disrupted when a Spanish war ship attacks the port. Blood and his cohorts are able to take command of the ship and set sail into the Caribbean, becoming the most feared pirates in the region. Blood accumulates wealth by sacking merchant ships, and tangles with French pirate Levasseur (Basil Rathbone), but with the winds of change blowing through England, he has to again face his destiny in Port Royal.

Warner Bros. plonked virtual unknowns Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland into the starring roles of a $1 million epic, teamed them with director Michael Curtiz, and emerged with a timeless classic and one of Hollywood's most enduring screen couples. Captain Blood offers a rich story, patient build-ups, witty dialogue, an impressive scale, some gripping action and combat scenes, and plenty of heart.

The Casey Robinson script (an adaptation of a Rafael Sabatini novel) creates a charismatic and compelling central character who easily sustains the two hours of running time. In a remarkable display of mature film making, the first hour is invested in Blood's story before he became a pirate. This is time well spent, and Blood emerges as a rounded character, his background, motivations and beliefs carrying through to his days terrorizing the waters of the Caribbean.

Blood allows his mouth to frequently get him into trouble, a case of principle triumphing over convenience. His outspokenness also helps to get him noticed, which works for and against him in various situations. Blood helps to confirm that history is shaped by the brave, but they only earn their rewards after suffering as a result of their courage to stand for what is right.

Captain Blood excels at sub-plots and secondary themes to supplement the main protagonist. The relationship between Blood and Arabella is immediately electric, and the plot arcs beautifully to allow each to own the other. There are examples of camaraderie among Blood's men, a strong moral code even within the pirate community, and Blood takes to the sword to defend the virtues of women.

The film ends with a stunning naval battle, as Blood and his shipmates throw caution to the wind to reclaim their pride as citizens of a nation. Curtiz choreographs a spectacular 25 minute sequence of large war ships charging and trading fire at close quarters, resulting in mayhem, destruction and glory.

Flynn commands the screen with unconstrained charisma. Always a better actor than he was given credit for, Flynn has relatively few swashbuckling scenes and spends most of the film as a slave and a captive maintaining his dignity in the face of injustice. Once transformed into a pirate Flynn turns on his leadership wattage and it proves simply irresistible. De Havilland quickly establishes herself a worthy screen partner, her chin-up determination a perfect fit with Flynn's bravado.

Flynn and de Havilland would go on to co-star in a total of eight films, seven of them directed by Curtiz. It all started at the docks in Port Royal, with de Havilland offering $10 and buying herself a man.

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The Movies Of Olivia de Havilland

All movies starring Olivia de Havilland and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Captain Blood (1935)

The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936)

The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)

Dodge City (1939)

The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939)

Gone With The Wind (1939)

Santa Fe Trail (1940)

They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

The Male Animal (1942)

Not As A Stranger (1955)

The Proud Rebel (1958)

Airport '77 (1977)

The Swarm (1978)

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Movie Review: They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

An ambitious biographical epic, They Died With Their Boots On is a stellar example of grand storytelling, Hollywood style. The chequered history of George Custer makes for an action-packed and yet human story, recounted with impressive vigour and traces of humour.

Before the Civil War, George Custer (Errol Flynn) enlists at West Point Military Academy with ambitions to join the cavalry. He proves to be an undisciplined free spirit, unable to follow rules, his record tarnished with frequent transgressions. He clashes with fellow cadet Ned Sharp (Arthur Kennedy), and meets and falls in love with Elizabeth Bacon (Olivia de Havilland), the daughter of businessman Samuel Bacon (Gene Lockhart).

When the Civil War does erupt Custer is rushed into service in the Union Army despite his unpromising performance. Lieutenant General Winfield Scott (Sydney Greenstreet) takes a shine to the young man and assigns him to the Cavalry. Custer proves to be an unconventional and fearless military commander, incurring losses but achieving significant victories. In the chaos of war, he is quickly promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. He marries Elizabeth, continues to lead his troops from the front, and contributes to the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg.

In a post-war funk Custer crosses path with Sharp, now part of an unscrupulous railroad expansion business cartel. Custer refuses to go into business, rejoins the military and is assigned to command Fort Lincoln deep in the Dakota Territory. With Indians under the leadership of Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn) still ruling the territories and threatening trade routes, Custer gets help from grizzled old-timer California Joe (Charley Grapewin) and sets about to whip the fort regiment into shape and forge peace. But events and corporate interests will conspire against him, culminating in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

An enthusiastic version of the Custer story, They Died With Their Boots On is a galloping 140 minutes packed with adventure, war, politics and ultimately tragedy. Director Raoul Walsh expertly paces the film to alternate swashbuckling moments of Flynn doing what Flynn does best with more measured character-building scenes, delving into quieter moments where politicians, generals and businessmen helped to shape the key events in his life. The one missing aspect is Custer's childhood and upbringing, but the film is none the poorer for the omission. He arrives at West Point as an oddball adult, and remains a true contrarian throughout his colourful career.

In the context of Hollywood's early 1940s era, They Died With Their Boots On is remarkably accurate. Custer's abject mediocrity at West Point, his unexpected over-achievement in the Civil War, his bold battlefield tactics, his post-war involvement in the intersection of politics with commerce, and the romance with Elizabeth Bacon are all represented, and bring to life a rounded hero rightfully celebrated in his time. His last stand and demise at Little Big Horn are romanticized in Custer's favour as a great sacrifice, but the film is commendable for capturing a compelling Custer with all his faults, and all his strengths.

The film boasts a progressive portrayal of the Indian tribes, who are presented as defending their land, willing to accept peace, and then victims of a betrayal driven by unscrupulous business interests.  The screenplay (by Æneas MacKenzie, Wally Kline and Lenore J. Coffee) also excels at injecting the typically ignored backroom machinations of business and politics, providing the movie with an added dimension of intrigue outside the more traditional battlefield exploits. And throughout Custer's adventures, moments of humour and human traits and foibles are teased out, turning the legend into a man.

They Died With Their Boots On was the eighth and final teaming of Flynn and de Havilland. They are easily comfortable with each other, their romance and marriage an inspiration and then foundation for Custer's exploits. Their last scene together is prolonged and poignant: Custer's farewell to Elizabeth as he prepares for the fateful battle with Crazy Horse is carefully constructed by Walsh to heighten the impending tragedy. Flynn and de Havilland give the scene a deep maturity as the couple dance around what needs to be fully understood but absolutely unsaid. Flynn again demonstrates admirable range and no shortage of charisma in the acting scenes, while Arthur Kennedy as Ned Sharp is a worthy and tenacious adversary.

Custer's legacy was much more than just his final stand, and They Died With Their Boots On flamboyantly celebrates an adventure-seeking maverick who lived life to the fullest.

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Movie Review: Santa Fe Trail (1940)

An intriguing story of the bubbling conflicts before the Civil War, Santa Fe Trail takes the usual historical liberties but is an otherwise thought provoking examination of hatred and zealotry deployed for a just cause.

It's 1854, and at the West Point Military Academy James "Jeb" Stewart (Errol Flynn), George Custer (Ronald Reagan) and Carl Rader (Van Heflin) are about to graduate together. But Rader harbours strong sympathies for violent slavery abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey), sparking a brawl among the members of the graduating class. Rader is dishonourably discharged. Stewart and Custer are posted to the dangerous territory around Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where they both fall in love with Kit Holliday (Olivia de Havilland), the daughter of a railroad tycoon.

Rader joins Brown's growing movement of fanatics in Kansas, helping slaves escape but brutally killing and pillaging any community that stands in their way. Stewart and Custer are tasked with ending Brown's reign of terror, and they eventually uncover his hideout at Shubel Morgan's ranch in Palmyra. But Brown regroups in Virginia and plans a daring raid on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, forcing another confrontation with the army forces.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, Santa Fe Trail is a mix of military action, politics, bonhomie, romance and history. The film takes a few liberties with the historical characters of the era to create a who's-who of American military adventurism standing shoulder to shoulder. In reality Custer and Stewart were not in the same class, but here it does not matter. This is a reality-based story about the swirling clouds before the unseen storm, with a focus on the strong military bonds that were to be soon fractured. Stewart, Custer and their colleagues are gung-ho and united in giving chase to the radicalized Brown; and they cannot begin to conceive of a near future when they will be splintered and forced to fight each other.

John Brown presents a most interesting conundrum as the central antagonist. A virulent anti-slavery warrior, his methods were hateful and destructive, as he fought against despicable and dehumanizing racism. Brown was on a private war path before there was a war and therefore had to be stopped, but the Civil War that inevitably followed was an expanded version of the conflict he started. The film portrays Brown as a wide-eyed maniac, but Raymond Massey's domineering performance also portrays a man deeply convinced that he is right, with plenty of followers willing to take up arms for his cause.

Also interesting is the film's unapologetic presentation, through Stewart's words, of the South's position that left alone, the region was moving to phase out slavery on its own. And in the hellish chaos caused by Brown, a black family expresses a rejection of Brown's version of violence-drenched freedom and a longing for the comfort of what they know - slavery. These are not easy contrarian opinions to grapple with, and Santa Fe Trail allows the plot to progress through the vagaries of a pre-war era not yet defined by winners and losers, where right and wrong clash in the fog of opinionated pragmatism.

Through it all Errol Flynn delivers a surprisingly restrained performance. His version of Jeb Stewart is charismatic, heroic and daring when he needs to be, but just as often Flynn allows Stewart to be thoughtful, reserved and respectful. With his 1940s haircut Ronald Reagan is difficult to take seriously as Custer, while de Havilland gets yet another role as little more than decoration to Flynn's daring-do. This being the seventh Flynn - de Havilland screen pairing, the love triangle between Custer, Stewart and Kit is conceded by Reagan before the opening credits.

In addition to Van Heflin as the conflicted West Point outcast torn between a cause and his economic well-being, the supporting cast includes Alan Hale and William Lundigan as Tex Bell and Bob Holliday, two rough adventurers tagging along with the army mainly to provide comic relief.

Santa Fe Trail is an interesting pathway where the dark clouds of today conceal the looming black thunderheads of tomorrow, and all that seems certain and straight proves to be unexpectedly complex.

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Movie Review: The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1936)

Long on rousing action and short on historical accuracy, The Charge Of The Light Brigade uses the actual battle of 1854 as a climax but constructs an entirely fictitious narrative as a lead up story. The film is nevertheless a wildly entertaining and lavishly produced spectacle.

In the tribal areas of India in the mid-19th century, the 27th Lancers of the British Army under the leadership of Major Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flynn) are tasked with keeping the peace in the Suristan territory, controlled by local leader Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon). The nearby British presence is centred on a fort in the remote town of Chukoti. Vickers saves Khan's life during a hunting expedition. But there is unexpected trouble for Geoffrey when he discovers that his fiancée Elsa (Olivia de Havilland) has fallen in love with his younger brother Captain Perry Vickers (Patric Knowles).

With regional tensions rising Khan decides to betray the British and align himself with the Russians, and orders his men to commit a massacre at the Chukoti fort, murdering women and children who were under the protection of the 27th Lancers. Khan repays his debt by sparing Geoffrey's life. War breaks out in the Crimea, and both Vickers brothers are reassigned to augment the British forces waging battle. With Khan's men deployed on the front lines but protected by Russian cannons, Geoffrey spots an opportunity for the Lancers to gain a measure of revenge and turn the tide of the war, but this will involve a daring raid against superior forces.

An early example of a big production action epic loosely inspired by British military history, The Charge Of The Light Brigade is filled with scenes of mounted armies mobilizing, marching and charging. The action is frequent, intense, and enjoyable, as director Michael Curtiz captures what it means to be a hot and sweaty mounted brigade ordered to battle the unforgiving terrain and the hardened local tribes at the far flung edges of empire.

Between the combat scenes, there are plenty of costumes, parties, dances, politicians, impressive sets and a large number of lively extras to provide the context for the battlefield exploits. At almost two hours in length, The Charge Of The Light Brigade maintains breathless momentum, and builds a powerful story of military alliances, betrayal and the intrigue that forces armies into motion.

Less impressive is how far the story veers away from the historical record. The charge itself is stunningly recreated in the final twenty minutes of the film, but all the events leading up to it are manufactured out of the Hollywood dream factory. The outcome is not uninteresting; just an unnecessary divergence to the land of fiction as an alternative to an already compelling reality.

Working with the script that they do have, the stars help to make it all work. This is a film made for Errol Flynn, his charismatic attitude overflowing with panache, and he is always watchable as the confident, determined and professional Major Geoffrey Vickers. Olivia de Havilland is less convincing but still adequate, the role of Elsa underwritten into a box of love and affection for two brothers, but with insufficient meaningful scenes to bring the character to full life. David Niven makes a good impression as Captain Randall, one of Vickers' trusted subordinates. Patric Knowles, C. Henry Gordon, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, and Henry Stephenson provide sturdy support.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade carries an unintended legacy related to animal cruelty. The filming of the raucous battle scenes resulted in the death of dozens of horses injured in falls caused by trip wires. The subsequent outrage reached all the way to the political sphere; horse trip wires were banned and the industry moved towards more humane treatment of animals on film sets.

Galloping full speed ahead and consequences be damned, The Charge Of The Light Brigade kicks up plenty of dust and holds nothing back.

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Movie Review: The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)

One of Hollywood's best swashbuckling adventures and the first in glorious Technicolor, The Adventures Of Robin Hood is a non-stop thrill fest with plenty of romance, swordplay, archery stunts and general joviality.

With King Richard the Lionheart held hostage in Austria, his evil brother Prince John (Claude Rains) makes his move to seize power in England by fermenting the divide between Normans and Saxons, helped by Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone). The charismatic Sir Robin of Locksley (Errol Flynn), an ace archer and soon to be known as Robin Hood, is loyal to Richard and launches a rebellion, using the dense Sherwood Forest in Nottingham as his base. Robin collects a merry band of men including Will Scarlett (Patric Knowles), Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette) and Little John (Alan Hale Sr.), and they take to ambushing Prince John's tax convoys, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

As he mercilessly taunts his enemies, Robin meets Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland), a beautiful member of the royal court. Marion and Robin fall in love, after she learns about his cause and believes it to be just. When Robin competes in an archery tournament and is finally captured by his enemies, Marion has to find a way to save him, but her betrayal of John lands her in trouble. As Prince John gets ever closer to the throne, Robin has to return the favour and save Marion, while the unexpected return of a King again threatens to tilt the balance of power.

Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley for Warner Bros., The Adventures Of Robin Hood is a dazzling kaleidoscope of vivid colours, lively characters and lavish sets. Packed into 102 minutes, the film moves at an agile pace, finding action set-pieces at regular intervals and still taking the time to recount an involving and character-rich story of revolution and romance.

The characters are admittedly coloured in pretty basic black or white, either all good or all bad, and some of the combat scenes, particularly a major ambush in the forest, are stiffly staged by modern standards. But the film rides Errol Flynn's irresistible magnetism through any rough spots, and the fluid cinematography makes the most of the expansive sets. The final sword fight between Robin and Sir Guy is brilliantly choreographed and oozes energetic athleticism, setting the gold standard for climactic duels.

At his commercial peak, Flynn makes for a dashing Robin Hood, filled with confidence and deploying a mischievous grin and loud laugh to rally support and woo Marion. In relative terms Olivia de Havilland gets the most complex role, as Maid Marion is the only character faced with choices and divided loyalties. de Havilland revived her flagging career by giving Marion plenty of moxie, transitioning from a sharp tongued ally of the evil plotters to a secret weapon for the revolutionaries. This was de Havilland's third teaming with Flynn, and their natural on-screen chemistry and the film's success launched a further five collaborations.

The supporting cast members have plenty of fun, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains creating a worthy one-two punch of evil as they plot their takeover of the crown. They are backed by the likes of Montagu Love as the Bishop of the Black Canons, while Ian Hunter makes a late but crucial intervention. Hundreds of extras populate many of the scenes, to enliven sumptuous royal feasts, large scale forest battles and bring to life the villages and taverns of twelfth century England.

The Adventures Of Robin Hood is one of modern Hollywood's crucial early milestones, a grand action-packed and fast-paced adventure with a dashing hero and a damsel in distress, the perfect template for ridiculously enjoyable fun.

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Movie Review: Gone With The Wind (1939)

One of the all-time grand epics, Gone With The Wind is a key milestone marking the beginning of modern cinema. The adventures of a headstrong southern belle before, during, and after the Civil War are given a luxurious treatment that has withstood the test of time with remarkable ease.

With the winds of war looming, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) is blossoming into womanhood on the Tara plantation in rural Georgia. Combining beauty with an intractable will to get what she wants, Scarlett uses her womanly charms to make every man weak in the knees. Yet she is rejected by the one man she truly loves, the reserved Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). At a grand barbecue and banquet event, Scarlett meets Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a successful maverick businessman and a lone voice in warning that the North will have an advantage in the upcoming war thanks to a stronger industrial base. Rhett sees in Scarlett the same qualities of rebellion and determination that he possesses, but she wants nothing to do with him. Ashley decides to marry the genuine and nearly angelic Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland).

Scarlett: All I know is that I love you! And you don't love Melanie!
Ashley: She's like me, Scarlett. She's part of my blood and we understand each other.
Scarlett: But you love me!
Ashley: How could I help loving you — you who have all the passion for life that I lack? But that kind of love isn't enough to make a successful marriage for two people who are as different as we are.

In an act of impetuous revenge, Scarlett marries Melanie's brother Charles, a man she barely knows. War erupts; Charles enlists but dies of pneumonia, leaving Scarlett a young widow. She visits Atlanta and reconnects with Rhett, now getting rich by smuggling war supplies. She is still not interested in him, her heart set on Ashley, who is serving in the Confederate Army. With Atlanta beginning to come under attack, Ashley asks Scarlett to look after the pregnant Melanie. She does so under horrific conditions, as Atlanta is sacked by the Union and burned to the ground. With Rhett's help Scarlett and Melanie find their way back to a destroyed Tara, where Scarlett will have to start from nothing to try and rebuild her life.

Based on Margaret Mitchell's 1936 best seller, Gone With The Wind clocks in at close to four hours, but never loses momentum. The second half may not carry the emotional punch of the exceptional opening two hours, but the story of Scarlett O'Hara and her ever tumultuous relationship with Rhett Butler builds remarkable power, and the destiny shaped by her decisions demands to be revealed.

Gone With The Wind was the vision of independent producer David O. Selznick. He purchased the rights to the book and assembled the cast, borrowing Clark Gable from MGM in a deal that gave MGM distribution rights. Selznick also launched a high-publicity search for an actress to play Scarlett, and eventually settled on the little known Englishwoman Vivien Leigh. Gable and Leigh would forever be associated with Rhett and Scarlett, and their performances give the film its primary thrust as two strong willed characters charting a passionate course in life, destined to deal with each other but rarely in full harmony. Every scene with both Rhett and Scarlett on the screen simply crackles with love-hate intensity, two souls too alike to find serenity, but also unable to navigate life without each other.

Scarlett: But you are a blockade runner.
Rhett: For profit, and profit only.
Scarlett: Are you tryin' to tell me you don't believe in the cause?
Rhett: I believe in Rhett Butler. He's the only cause I know. The rest doesn't mean much to me.

Leigh's performance is particularly affecting, especially in the first half of the film. She brings to Leigh a threatening sensuality combined with on-call coquettishness, Leigh's eyes alternating between batting flirtatiously at a line-up of suitors, and penetrating straight to their essence to measure their ability to serve her ambitions. She is also quite stunning in a morning-after scene, turning Rhett's domination into her own contented pleasure, casting doubt on who actually commanded the night.

Gable's screen persona of rebel with a personal cause allows Rhett to instantaneously dissect Scarlett's spirit while simultaneously falling in love with her. Gable's Rhett is gruff, resourceful and rich, a powerful combination and the only one capable of wrestling Scarlett into submission, should she ever allow it.

Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland provide capable support, but Ashley is too bland and Melanie too good to contribute anything other than background staidness compared to the Scarlett and Rhett show.

Selznick spared no cost in producing Gone With The Wind for almost $4 million, an astronomical amount for the era and possibly the most expensive film made up to that time. The film is packed with memorable visual moments, including Scarlett and her dad at Tara, the burning of Atlanta, the train station bursting with injured soldiers, the harrowing journey back to Tara, and Scarlett grasping her home soil and vowing to never be poor again. Max Steiner's mammoth orchestral score, highlighted by the gallant Tara's theme, adds to the timeless quality of the experience.

Scarlett: As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!

Director Victor Fleming (with help from uncredited co-directors George Cukor and Sam Wood) astutely hides any stage set constraints, and gives Gone With The Wind an expansive ambiance. He plays with lush colours, lighting, silhouettes, shades and shadows, not to mention gorgeous costumes to create a rich visual experience, opening the door for what the movies can achieve as a full sensory experience. The internal shots benefit from exalted mansions representing Tara, the adjacent Twelve Oaks, and other locales visited or owned by Rhett and Scarlett on their intertwined journeys.

The glory of the south may have been defeated, Gone With The Wind of a devastating war. But the story of Scarlett O'Hara lives on, thanks to an unequalled cinematic achievement.

Scarlett: Rhett! Rhett, where are you going?
Rhett: I'm going to Charleston, back where I belong.
Scarlett: Please, please take me with you!
Rhett: No, I'm through with everything here. I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Scarlett: No! I only know that I love you.
Rhett: That's your misfortune. 
Scarlett: Oh, Rhett! Rhett! Rhett, Rhett! Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?
Rhett: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

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