Monthly Archives: October 2018

Shenandoah
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Written by James Lee Barrett
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Charlie Anderson: Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we’re about to eat, amen.[/box]

OK Civil War/Western tale.

Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is the patriarch of a Northern Virginia farming family. The family does not keep slaves and therefore has opted out of taking sides in the Civil War.  But, when the youngest son is mistakenly arrested by Yankees for being an escaped prisoner of war, Charlie and family are moved into action.  With Katharine Ross as the young wife of one of the sons.

This was all right if nothing exceptional.  It has kind of a folksy, family friendly tone.

I Saw What You Did
Directed by William Castle
Written by William P. McGivern from a novel by Ursula Curtiss
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/my DVD collection

[box] Libby: I saw what you did, and I know who you are.[/box]

Nice little thriller about teenage crank callers but don’t come expecting a lot from Joan Crawford.

Kit Austin and Libby Mannering are bored high schoolers left at home alone.  They use the opportunity to play pranks with the telephone.  These start with trying to make trouble in marriages and then escalate into random “I saw what you did” calls.  Unfortunately, they eventually zero in on a man (John Ireland) who just murdered his wife.

The rest of the movie focuses on the man’s efforts to eliminate the “witnesses”.  Crawford plays the man’s lustful blackmailing neighbor.

I generally enjoy William Castle’s films and this was no exception.  I had expected more high camp, a la Strait Jacket, but this is still a decent entertainment.

The Moment of Truth (Il momento della verita)
Directed by Francesco Rossi
Written by Pedro Beltran, Ricardo Muñoz Suay, Pere Portabella, Francesco Rossi
1965/Italy/Spain
As Films Produccion/Federiz
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] “Courage and grace is a formidable mixture. The only place to see it is the bullring.” ― Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Dietrich’s ABC[/box]

Stunningly beautiful film about an ugly subject.

The film covers the career of a poor boy (Miguelin) who makes it big as a bullfighter.  Most of the story takes place in the bullring.

The bullfighter in this is one gorgeous man and his artistry and courage in the ring are beyond compare.  It really does look like a dance.  On the other hand, there is plenty of graphic carnage and animal death on hand.

The Nanny
Directed by Seth Holt
Written by Jimmy Sangster from a novel by Marryam Model
1965/UK
Hammer Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] The nanny: What was so bad about Mrs. Griggs?

Joey Fane: She was like you.[/box]

Bette Davis was the grandest of the dames during the era of psycho-biddy films.  She is wonderful in this Hammer Studios thriller.

The nanny has been with the Fane family for years.  She was nanny to mother Virginia Fane and her sister when they were girls, stayed on to serve the fragile Virgie, and went on to nanny for her children Joey and Susy.  Susy was killed a couple of years before by drowning in the bathtub.  The incident was blamed on young Joey.  Joey is certain that the nanny did it but his smart mouth has not assisted his cause.  He has just been released by the institution to which he was confined after the incident.

Joey refuses to eat anything the nanny prepares or to sleep, claiming fear of kindly old nanny.  The action escalates to a rather predictable end.

Did Bette Davis ever turn in a bad performance?  I think not.  This is a solid thriller, nothing far out.  Davis has a nice steely glint in her eye beneath all the Mary Poppins sweetness.