Natalie Wood (with Tony Curtis and Keenan Wynn in the background) production still from Blake Edwards’s The Great Race (1965)
Friday, 1 December 2023
The Great Race (1965)
Saturday, 8 January 2022
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
Not really a faithful adaptation of Truman Capote's novella, the plot is quite messy and the male lead a bland miscast; nevertheless, this movie became an instant classic thanks to a lively and witty direction and the irresistibly charming Audrey Hepburn.
On re-watching: Despite all its flaws this is a movie I come back to every soften mainly for Audrey and quite a few memorable scenes.
Halliwell*: "Impossibly cleaned up and asexual version of a light novel
which tried to be the American I am a Camera (qv). Wild parties, amusing
scenes and good cameos, but the pace is slow, the atmosphere is
unconvincingly clean and luxurious, and the sentimentality kills it."
Maltin***1/2: "Charming film...Dated trappings don't detract from high comedy and winning romance."
Saturday, 27 February 2021
Operation Petticoat (1959)
During World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
Mildly amusing military comedy somehow easily smooths its way around having a coherent story, but prefers on presenting some singularly entertaining moments.
Halliwell*: "Flabby comedy with good moments, but not many."
Maltin***1/2: "Hilarious comedy...Some truly memorable gags; Grant and Curtis are a dynamite team in this happy film."
Friday, 2 August 2019
10 (1979)
A Hollywood composer goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy, newly married woman.
From memory: On the surface an old-fashioned sex comedy, but the jokes utterly misfire behind misogynist premise.
Halliwell (no star): "Randy farce which struck some, but not all, audiences as the funniest thing since sliced bread."
Maltin**: "Blake Edwards' idea of a real sophisticated movie; sporadically funny but tiresome, glib, and pompous."