Movies

[Rusty]

413 - Broken Rainbow (1985) - 7/10 - Congress passed a law in 1974 to force the relocation of 10,000 Navajo people from land designated as part of the Hopi Nation. Supposedly the two tribes were in dispute over the land and it might lead to fighting. In reality, a coal company wanted the coal and other resources under the land and manufactured the issue to get the law passed. This film documents some of the struggle against the forced relocation and the damage it causes those involved and also delves into the history of broken promises and abuse of power by the government in Navajo affairs. The Navajo have uranium, oil, coal, and other resources on their land, but only get a very small percentage of the actual value. It's a pretty sad situation and one that is consistent with how Native American people have been treated for the past few centuries.


414 - Resisting Enemy Interrogation (1944) - 8/10 - This training film features a bomber crew that is shot down and captured by the Germans. The Germans use a number of different methods on the individual members of the crew to gather scraps of information that they put together to identify an upcoming target. It turned out to be a pretty entertaining film. One review that I read indicated that a later documentary confirmed that the methods shown were pretty accurate.


415 - The Titan: Story of Michelangelo (1950) - 5/10 - This documentary features sparse narration describing events in Michelangelo's life as well as some of the details in his most famous works. It spends a lot of time panning around David, the Sistine Chapel, and other of his works. I found it to be very dull.


416 - Folies Bergère de Paris (1935) - 8/10 - Maurice Chevalier plays dual roles in this film. He plays Charlier, a stage performer and singer who does a great impersonation of Baron Cassini, a prominent local banker. Cassini (also Chevalier) is a womanizer who attends the performance one night and enjoyed it quite a bit. However, the Baron receives bad news about an investment and leaves town suddenly to try and take care of it. His partners hire Charlier to take his place at a formal gala and other engagements. Merle Oberon is excellent as Baroness Cassini. Ann Sothern plays Mimi, Charlier's girlfriend, and is okay. I thought that the movie was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the musical numbers at the beginning and end of the film as well.


417 - Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) - 7.5/10 - Eddie Cantor stars as Al Babson, a drifter riding the rails who is a huge fan of movie stars and collects their autographs when he can. An accident leaves him in the medical tent for 20th Century Fox where they are shooting a film. He gets hired as an extra, but overmedicates himself and wakes up to find himself in ancient Baghdad where they mistake him for Ali Baba's son. This is a fun comedy adventure with music thrown in and I enjoyed it a lot more than the other Cantor picture I've seen (Whoopee). Unfortunately, they had to throw in an unnecessary blackface appearance as well. Still, other than that it is a pretty good film. There are a lot of star cameos at the end of the picture.

[Rusty]

418 - The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935) - 5/10 - A radio station is in financial straits, but its salvation might be had by winning a contest with the aid of an invention by George Burns and Gracie Allen that can pick up any signal and broadcast it. There are a lot of musical and comedy acts shown through the magic of this device. There are also running storylines with the radio station operator and friends being kidnapped and another with George and Gracie and their antics. The Nicholas Brothers were pretty good in their part and some of the acts were mildly entertaining, but for the most part the movie is pretty lame.


419 - Thin Ice (1937) - 7/10 - Sonja Henie stars as a hotel ski instructor at a Swiss resort who dreams of being allowed to be part of a figure skating show at the hotel as well. She falls for a man (Tyrone Power) that she meets on the ski slopes and they start to have a relationship. She doesn't know that he is really a prince who is in town to lead a conference. This was a bit of a step up from Henie's first movie and she is allowed to act a bit more. Tyrone Power is pretty good in the film and Henie isn't bad either, even if the plot is a bit thin. The figure skating shows are decent and the film is enjoyable.


420 - All the King's Horses (1935) - 7/10 - A prince and the pauper scenario plays out here as King Rudolph (Carl Brisson) and his wife, Queen Elaine (Mary Ellis) are having problems due to his refusing to shave his beard because of appeasing his ministers and also not having enough time to spend with her. Enter actor/singer Carlo Rocco (also Carl Brisson), a look alike that changes places with the king after his wife has left him. The king then sets off to learn to live without all of the pomp and circumstance only to have the queen fall for Rocco in his guise as the king. Lots of musical interludes and mixups in a decent film.


421 - King of Burlesque (1936) - 7.5/10 - Warner Baxter stars as Kerry Bolton, a wealthy theater producer who falls for a society lady (Mona Barrie) who has fallen on hard times financially. He also is oblivious to the feelings of his star performer Pat (Alice Faye). When Bolton marries the society lady, Pat takes a job in London, but Bolton's fortunes soon take a downward turn. I thought the movie was pretty entertaining with a few good musical numbers thrown in. The relationship between Bolton's assistant Joe (Jack Oakie) and Connie (Arline Judge) was funny throughout. We also get some entertainment from Fats Waller, Dixie Dunbar and others.


422 - Behind the News (1940) - 7/10 - An earnest young reporter named Jeff earns a scholarship to work for a big city newspaper for six months. He is assigned to Stu, a veteran reporter who has taken to drink and is cynical about the job. Jeff is earnest and covers for Stu when a big story hits, but Jeff repays him with a mean practical joke. Jeff stumbles on to a big story, but can't get anyone to take him seriously due to the practical joke played on him. This was a decent film and I enjoyed it, even if some parts were a bit heavy handed.


423 - Alone Yet Not Alone (2013) - 7/10 - In 1755, a tribe of Native Americans offered their services to the British, but were spurned, so they allied with the French instead. They attacked a number of settlers in the Penn's Creek Massacre, killing many adults and taking children captive. 12 year old Barbara Leininger and her 9 year old sister were captured and separated. Years later, Barbara joined her friend Marie Le Roy (a neighbor who was also captured) and two young men in escaping and trying to reach Fort Pitt and safety. The acting might have been a bit amateurish at times and some of the depictions of Native Americans may have been questionable, but overall I didn't think it was that bad. It also seemed to be fairly accurate based on the pamphlet written and published by Barbara and Marie after their escape.


424 - The Secret Land (1948) - 6/10 - This film documents Operation Highjump, a U.S. mission to Antarctica to establish the Little America IV base and have planes scout various parts of the coast and interior for minerals and anything else of interest. Much of the film features the trip to Antarctica and problems that they encountered along the way. The film was shot by military cameramen, though some scenes were re-enacted later. It wasn't bad and there was some interesting footage, including transferring men between ships at sea using a cable. I may be getting a bit jaded about Antarctica films, though, having watched a number of them this year.


425 - The Lovers' Wind (1978) - 9/10 - This film is a tour of the landscape of Iran, shot primarily from a helicopter. The narration is from the perspective of the wind as it travels throughout the country. In the desert, we see nomads traveling by camel, abandoned towns being reclaimed by the sand, and ancient cities being unearthed again. They give nice views of the city of Persepolis. Along the sea, we keep pace with birds in flight and observe fishermen at work. Along the plains, we see herds being gathered or allowed to water themselves. We see a hill covered in carpets so that they can dry only to see the wind send them tumbling. We follow a train through the mountains and tunnels. We also get to visit Tehran and go through the Golestan Palace. There is beautiful imagery here and the narration is poetical. I think it is an excellent film and certainly better than Scared Straight! which won the Academy Award that year. Filming was completed in 1970, but the death of the director, Albert Lamorisse (who won an Oscar for The Red Balloon) in a helicopter crash. The film was completed from his notes by his widow and son who released it in 1978.

[Rusty]

426 - Regret to Inform (1998) - 7.5/10 - A woman whose husband died during the Vietnam War travels to Vietnam to visit the place where he died. Interviews with other women (both American and Vietnamese) who lost husbands or other family members are interspersed with the woman's commentary. The experiences of these women paint a picture of the war that still haunts them many years after the war ended. The tone is fairly somber, but it is a good film and shows that people on each side were deeply affected by this unfortunate war.


427 - In the Name of the People (1985) - 8.5/10 - Four journalists snuck into El Salvador and spent 18 months with the FMLN, getting to know them as people and listening to their stories of government brutality and death squads. They grow food in one of their remote villages and also have schools set up when possible. There are children among the insurgents, some of whom have lost their parents to death squads. Dr. Charlie Clements appears here, treating injured guerrillas and traveling between camps. Clements was featured in an Oscar winning short called Witness to War the same year. There is a bit of recycled footage at the beginning and some combat footage in San Salvador toward the end of the film, but much of the film is dedicated to seeing the daily lives of the people. Martin Sheen narrates and the interviews are subtitled. This is one of the better films I've seen about the problems in Central America during the 1980s.


428 - Sing Your Way Home (1945) - 5/10 - A conceited war correspondent named Steve Kimball is trying to get back to New York City after the war. In order to do that, he is tasked with chaperoning a musical troupe of teenagers who were trapped in Europe for years due to the war. They want to dance and sing and he wants to keep them quiet. A woman named Kay becomes attached to the group and Steve and Kay fall for each other. The songs weren't bad, but the whole premise and much of the plot is pretty ridiculous. The movie was watchable, but not very believable or good.


429 - Navajo (1952) - 6/10 - A seven year old Navajo boy lives with his mother, sisters, and adopted grandfather. He is forced to go away to an Indian school run by white men, but rejects their ways and plans his escape. After escaping, he has to evade the men who come after to bring him back to the school. It was nominated by the Academy for cinematography and as a documentary. The cinematography is pretty good and the movie has some great scenic shots, but it certainly isn't a documentary. It's not a bad movie, though the narration could get a bit wearing at times.

[Rusty]

Tales of Meeting and Parting (1985) - 8/10 - A woman on a train relates a story told to her by a Japanese man at a train station. The man was an officer during WWII and served as an interpreter during interrogations of captured U.S. servicemen. During one such interrogation, he does a kindness for the prisoner. After the was, he is a prisoner himself and has a kindness done for him. I thought it was pretty well done and a decent short story. Apparently it was based on a true incident.


A Place in the Land (1998) - 7/10 - This film serves as a sort of biography for three men who owned or lived at the Billings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont. The film also delves into the ties each man had with conservation. The story is told mostly with narration over photographs or archival footage. The house at the Billings Farm was built in 1805 by the Charles Marsh. His son, George, grew up in the house and became a lawyer, politician, and diplomat in addition to his interests in conservation. Marsh also published a book titled Man and Nature. Frederick Billings bought the farm from Marsh's brother. Billings was a lawyer and railroad President in addition to his conservation efforts, which included planting thousands of trees and advocating for National Parks at Yosemite and Yellowstone. Billings' granddaughter married Laurance Rockefeller, a man who would become a leading conservationist in the latter half of the 20th Century. The film was interesting, though a bit superficial due to its length. There were some nice views of the Billings Farm during the film.


430 - Number One (1976) - 8/10 - The film starts with an elementary school classroom (first grade probably) where a few kids pay attention to the elderly teacher, but many are not paying much attention. Two girls get permission to go to the bathroom and stop to check out the boys' bathroom to see what it is like before returning to class. When two boys come in to use the bathroom, the kids start to talk and eventually decide to take off their clothes to see what the opposite sex looks like. It's pretty much innocent curiosity, but the principal catches them and yells at them. The rest of the film deals with the parents of three of the kids dealing with it and then the next day in class. The kids were very good and believable here. The most awkward part was the principal and his handling of the situation. Dyan Cannon directed the film and it is a good film.

[Rusty]

431 - Black Widow (2021) - 7.5/10 - This prequel takes place before Avengers: Endgame and gives Natasha Romanoff an origin story where she was part of a Russian sleeper cell in Ohio while still a child. Her return to Russia and (much) later escape are also covered. In this film, she reunites with her 'family' in trying to take out the man in charge of the Widow program and end its existence. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, especially Scarlet Johansson, Florence Pugh, and David Harbour. There were a few logical leaps perhaps, but overall I thought it was a pretty solid and entertaining film.


Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra (1984) - 8.5/10 - The film takes place in a town not too far from Toronto. An energetic conductor is working with a choir to get ready for a performance while also working with a community orchestra. He is bringing in a guest violinist to perform with the orchestra as well. Rehearsals and performances are shown and the music is well done and a lot of fun. We also get to see a small youth ensemble perform and get a few brief interviews with community members. The whole film is pretty upbeat and entertaining.


The Collector of Bedford Street (2002) - 7.5/10 - Larry Selman was a mildly mentally retarded man who lived in an apartment on Bedford Street in New York City. The only money he had came from social security and from his octogenarian uncle, but he spent quite a bit of time collecting money for worthy causes. His neighbor, Alice Elliott, decided to make this film about Larry. Larry's neighbors decided to do something about the situation and help Larry out. It was a good film and you get to know Larry quite a bit here in the film.


432 - Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (1985) - 8/10 - Tens of thousands of people disappeared between 1976-1983 during Argentina's Junta government. In 1977, a group of mothers desperate to get information about their missing children started gathering and marching weekly in the Plaza de Mayo, overcoming their fear of the government to try and get answers. This film interviews a number of the mothers as well as a few survivors and other family members, documenting what they faced as well as what their children probably faced in captivity. A few of the founders were disappeared themselves in 1977 in an effort to disperse the group. The political situation at the time is also discussed. The film is interesting, effective, and well done.

[Rusty]

A Shocking Accident (1982) - 7/10 - A nine year old boy at a boarding school gets the news that his father died while on a business trip to Italy. The boy imagines his father dying in an almost heroic manner, but discovers that he died when a pig fell on him from a fifth floor balcony. This 'shocking accident' follows him into adulthood and makes his life a bit difficult at times when people discover how his father died. It was humorous and a decent film.

[Rusty]

1848 (1950) - 7/10 - This short film covers the French Revolution of 1848 using narration, songs of that era, and cartoons drawn by prominent artists of the day. The drawings were pretty interesting and the film was decent.

[Rusty]

The True Story of the Civil War (1956) - 7.5/10 - This short film from Louis Stoumen uses narration mixed with photos and drawings created during the Civil War to give an overview of the course of the war. It lacks depth and is more of a highlights reel, but the narration is very good and the photographs are pretty effective. Overall, I think that it is a pretty good film.

[Rusty]

The Children's Storefront (1988) - 8/10 - This short film looks at a private, tuition free school in Harlem that worked with children from preschool through 8th grade, many from disadvantaged families who had trouble in regular schools. The teachers are very caring and try a variety of methods to help the children learn. The children also seem to form a bond with the teachers and do well in the program. It's a short film, but a good one.


Amazon Diary (1989) - 7.5/10 - The white men are cutting down parts of the Amazon rainforest and turning areas into mud in their search for gold. One tribe sends representatives to try to get them to respect the rainforest and learn new ways. The story is told through the eyes of one boy from the village. It is more of a glimpse at their life than anything else and lacks depth, but is still an entertaining short.

[Rusty]

American Shoeshine (1976) - 8.5/10 - This film features interviews with a variety of shoeshine men from around Chicago and shows them in action. It is a pretty entertaining film and delves a bit into the art and history of the job.


Rooftops of New York (1961) - 8/10 - A doorman notices water coming down from the roof of his building and then the camera pans up to the roof and observes a lot of activity. Some women are sunbathing and reading, a couple of men are exercising, a man waters plants, a woman hangs up her laundry, and love is in the air for others. It is accompanied by a jazzy soundtrack and is a fun short film.


Shoeshine (1987) - 6/10 - This short is about a man (Jerry Stiller) on the Staten Island Ferry trying to drum up business and giving a shoeshine to a young man (Ben Stiller) resting on one of the benches. They have a conversation during the shoeshine. It was okay, though not in the same class as many other shorts that I've seen.

[Rusty]

Water: Friend of Enemy (1943) - 7/10 - This animated short shows how to protect wells and springs from contamination that can bring disease. It was interesting, though somewhat basic.


Children at Work (Paisti ag obair) (1973) - 7/10 - This Irish short shows preschool age children building things with blocks, cups, legos, etc. The children also clean up their areas, practice buttoning clothes, and other activities where they imitate the adults to learn. It was mildly interesting, but too short.


Three Kisses (1955) - 7.5/10 - An Irish boy is pretty good at hurling and gets a chance to travel to Cork to try out for a top team there. When he plays well, he does his hometown proud. His focus is on hurling...and the neighbor girl that he happens to like. This is a lighthearted short film where we can gain a bit of knowledge about hurling and enjoy the action and humor as the boy narrates his tale.


Day of Battle (1943) - 7/10 - We get to see the lifecycle of an aircraft carrier as it is built with materials and work from a variety of states before it is finally launched into the sea. It goes into battle and we get to see quite a bit of combat footage from a variety of points of view. Finally, it is too badly damaged and is lost only to have another ship christened as the process begins anew.


High Stakes in the East (1942) - 8/10 - After the Allies lost Java to the Japanese, this film was made to show why Java was important and what had been lost. Java was a major supplier of salt, sugar, tin, petroleum, rubber, and a lot more. These materials are shown being collected and processed by the natives of Java. The film itself is pretty interesting for all the different materials and the work that is being done.


Oh Brother, My Brother (1979) - 7/10 - Ross and Carol Lowell filmed their two sons, Josh (7) and Evan (3) as they play together, fight, and behave as many brothers do. Josh narrates the film and you can see that they two boys enjoy each other's company, even when they get on the other one's nerves.

[Rusty]

The Numbers Start with the River (1971) - 7/10 - A short film about small town life in Iowa with narration by older residents who have lived their whole lives there and plenty of scenes of life there, from working the farms to visiting a diner or a high school football game. It wasn't bad.


Kudzu (1977) - 8/10 - Kudzu is a creeping vine that was brought over from Japan in 1876. It became widespread in the South as a means to control erosion, but spreads fairly rapidly and a number of people see it as a nuisance. This somewhat humorous short features people who like Kudzu and those who would rather get rid of it, though it isn't always easy to do. Jimmy Carter even makes a few appearances here as he is asked about Kudzu. I thought this was a fairly entertaining film.


Passport to Nowhere (1947) - 7/10 - This film showed the plight of displaced people in Europe after the end of WWII. There were around 8 million of them in the areas controlled by the western Allies and there was still a lot of suffering long after the war since countries were not in a hurry to step up and help them. Eventually help did start to reach them as various organizations set up in Germany and elsewhere. There were many Jews, but also those of Protestant and Catholic faiths. There were also many orphans amongst the displaced. It was not a great situation, but it was a decent film.


Saint Matthew Passion (1966) - 5/10 - This Hungarian film features the J.S. Bach music as the soundtrack to a series of pictures which mostly feature the suffering of Jews at the hand of Nazis while other German citizens look on. The music was really good, but I don't think that their method of displaying the photos and the organization of the photos really worked very well. I think that they may have been trying to set up a corollary between the suffering of Jesus on the cross with the suffering of the Jewish people here, but they could have done a better job.


Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse (1986) - 8/10 - Red Grooms is an artist and he is profiled here. He works in a variety of mediums, including three dimensional pop up constructions, some of which move (such as a model subway car). He is shown visiting a variety of places in New York and sketching what he sees for future exhibits. We learn a bit about his history and early work and also get to see him working on a mural. I thought that the film was pretty interesting and his artwork was good. Some of his pop ups reminded me of the Spitting Images puppets in the "Land of Confusion" video from Genesis in terms of style.

[Rusty]

The Postcard (La Carte Postale) (1998) - 8/10 - A young boy gets a postcard from his father from overseas so he decides to write a postcard back. However, the postcard arrived on the day of the father's funeral and it leads to a few complications. I thought this was a mildly amusing, but fairly entertaining short film. Some things are left unsaid, but are pretty obvious from what happens during the day of the funeral.


Birdnesters of Thailand (1991) - 7/10 - Men of a village in a remote area of Thailand use traditional methods passed down by their ancestors to take birdnests from high up on cliffs and in caves. The birdnests have value in Hong Kong and are sold to traders for money to keep their village going. The men have to climb up high or descend from vines to reach certain caves. They also use long bamboo shafts and have to be careful to check that they are sound. It was interesting, but more explanation of what the birdnests are used for would have been nice.

[Rusty]

An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer (1969) - 7/10 - Henry Fonda (as Steinbeck) narrated this short documentary that came out after Steinbeck died. It features a number of people who give their impressions of Steinbeck, including students, childhood friends, professors, and others. It uses quotes from Steinbeck and looks back at some of his motivations as a writer, examining some of the characters in his works and visiting places where he lived. It is far from a comprehensive biography, but fits the title of giving an impression of the man.


Pan (1962) - 9/10 - This Dutch film features a boy who starts out rowing his boat through the reeds in a lake to examine a bird's nest. He then takes to the water, swimming around and observing birds in mating rituals, taking care of their young, sitting on their eggs, and going about their business. He is attacked by a couple of birds for his actions during the film. He takes up his pan pipe and makes music to fit in with the birds, frogs, insects, and other wildlife around him. There is no dialogue in the film, but it is hardly needed. It's a charming and well made film.

[Rusty]

Kangaroo Court (1994) - 6/10 - Two white police officers pull over a black man driving in Watts. They pull him out of the car to arrest him for no apparent reason as a crowd gathers. One of the officers pulls his gun, but things don't go as he expects as the crowd turns on him and knocks him out. He awakes to find himself being put on trial by gang members for the murder of a neighborhood boy. Gregory Hines plays an attorney who is brought in to represent him in this kangaroo court. The idea of the story feels pretty relevant today, but I thought that the acting was kind of over the top and overall the film is just okay and felt stagy. Sean Astin directed this short film.


Down on the Waterfront (1993) - 7.5/10 - Jason Alexander and Jonathan Penner are film producers who have been making short subject films. They meet with a union official from the Longshoreman's Union (played by Ed Asner) who wants them to create a feature length film to improve their image. The film starts with part of a fake documentary that I thought was fun and would have been cool to see the whole thing. The rest of the film is pretty much just the three men talking in a park, but it is still entertaining.