Do You Know This Voice? Directed by Frank Nesbitt Written by Neil McCallum from a novel by Evelyn Berckman 1964/UK British Lion Film Corporation/Columbia Pictures
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box]You can’t make a picture without a villain . . . it pays well and you last. – Dan Duryea[/box]
An OK British thriller gives us the chance to see Dan Duryea after all these years.
John Hopta (Duryea) masterminds a kidnapping turned murder. His wife makes the ransom call. The only witness can provide, who was bending down when she heard it, can provide only a description of the shoes. Nonetheless, she is in great danger herself.
I was underwhelmed by this sleeper but I never pass up a chance to see Dan Duryea, my all-time favorite heel.
36 Hours Directed by George Seaton Written by George Seaton; story by Carl K. Hittleman and Luis H. Vance from a story by Roald Dahl 1964/USA Prelberg-Seaton Productions/Cherokee Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Otto Schack: [to Gerber] Take my advice; don’t try to be a leader. I have discovered it’s much safer to be a follower.[/box]
This is an OK, if unbelievable, WWII thriller with some excellent performances.
It is late May 1944. Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner) is working for US military intelligence out of London. The U.S. preoccupation at this time is hiding all plans for the D-Day invasion from the Germans. Thus far the enemy believes this will take place at Calais. Pike regularly travels to Portugal where he feeds disinformation to a double agent at the German Embassy.
On this final trip Pike is waylaid and transported to a location in Germany near the Swiss border.
There, Maj. Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor) has set up an elaborate fake US military hospital, complete with English-speaking staff. In this alternative universe the year is 1950. The plan is to convince Pike that the war has been over for six years and he has been suffering amnesia the entire time. Pike is assigned private nurse Anna Hedler (Eva Marie-Saint), to whom he is supposedly married. Presumably Pike’s guard will be down and he unwittingly discuss is role in the planning. In the meantime, the SS is chomping at the bit to use more traditional methods. Will the Nazis find what they are looking for? Will Pike come out of this alive?
This is entertaining but I did not believe for one minute that the Germans could afford or pull off such a complicated plot. The movie dies not share my reservations. The first two acts are intriguing, the last act is an escape attempt that is nothing special. The acting is all solid.
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? Directed by Ray Dennis Steckler Written by Gene Pollock, Robert Silliphant and E.M. Kevke 1964/USA Morgan-Steckler Productions
First viewing/YouTube
[box] Barker: We’ve got twenty beautiful girls and only ten beautiful costumes![/box]
Ray Dennis Steckler is consistent – consistently terrible!
The story is set in a carnival side show, that strangely features strippers and nightclub acts as attractions. Jerry (the director as “Cash Flagg”) is lured to the tent of fortune teller Madame Estrella and hypnotized into performing horrible murders. No creatures or “zombies” appear until the final minutes.
This movie is about 40 minutes of lame weird nightclub acts with at most 20 minutes of uninspiring horror culminating in 3 minutes of creature action. If not for the partial nudity I’m sure teenagers of the day were demanding their money back. I watched the film sans riff track.
The Outrage Directed by Martin Ritt Written by Michael Kanin from the play by Michael and Fay Kanin and the screenplay for “Rashomon” by Akira Kurosawa based on the story by Shinobu Hashimoto 1964/USA Martin Ritt Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Preacher: Is truth the luxury of the rich?[/box]
The story worked so well for Kurosawa. All the greatness got lost in the translation.
This is an almost exact attempt to recreate the Rashomon story in an Old West setting. Three strangers, a prospector (Howard Da Silva), a preacher (William Shatner) and a con man (Edward G. Robinson), are stranded at a derelict train station. The prospector and the preacher are still stunned from participating in the trial of Mexican bandit Juan Carrasco (Paul Newman) for the rape of a Woman (Claire Bloom) and murder of her Husband (Laurence Harvey).
What shocks the men so much is that three completely different versions of the events come out. Only one could possibly be true. Before the end of the movie we will get a fourth version. Will it be the truth?
What worked for John Sturges in The Magnificent Seven and Sergio Leone in A Fistful of Dollars flops for Martin Ritt here. Everything about the story rang completely false to me. Worst of all is the performance of Paul Newman. His depiction of a Mexican borders on caricature. The supernatural elements of the story fall flat. The message is way too simplistic. Really the only outstanding thing about the film is the performance of Robinson, who never failed me yet.
Murder Most Foul Directed by George Pollock Written by David Pursall and Jack Seddon from a novel by Agatha Christie 1964/UK Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Lawrence P. Bachmann Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Justice Crosby: Madam, either you will need to cease knitting or I shall need to cease judging.[/box]
Margaret Rutherford is a jewel!
In this one, Miss Marple is the juror who deadlocks a murder trial for the death of a barmaid. She thinks she knows better than the prosecution. And of course she does! The facts take her to a theatrical company. She gets hired as an actress and the death toll mounts.
The best part of this movie is Rutherford’s audition for the company which is a spirited rendition of Robert W. Service’s lurid poem “The Shooting of Dan McGrew”! A very pleasant way to spend 90 minutes.
Dear Heart Directed by Delbert Mann Written by Tad Mosel 1964/USA Out of Towners Productions
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] Evie Jackson: Did you see how we just came in, Harry? Got a table right away. Isn’t life easy when there are two of you?[/box]
OK romcom about love between an ex-playboy and a wacky spinster.
The story is set at a New York City where a postmaster’s convention is being held. Aging spinster postmistress Evie Jackson (Geraldine Page) attends these things every year. She has been known to sow some wild oats but is looking for love at the moment. Harry Mork (Glenn Ford) has just been promoted from traveling salesman to marketing director in the city and is staying at the hotel while he gets settled. He has recently become engaged to Phyllis (Angela Lansbury) and looks forward to becoming domesticated.
Convention crowds and Fate keep throwing Evie and Harry together. He tells her he is married but she doesn’t believe him. Gradually, these opposites attract.
Having been single for the first forty years of my life, I have problems with the characterization of spinsters in films of this era. They are always the most pathetic creatures imaginable. Page’s character tries way too hard. Obviously, an actress of Page’s caliber carries it off pretty well and the story has an appealing sweetness.
Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston, and Ray Evans were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song for the title tune.
Kwaidan (Kaidan) Directed by Misaki Kobayashi Written by Yoko Mizuki from a novel by Lafcadio Hearn 1964/Japan Bungei/Ninjin Club/Toho Company/Toyo Kogyo Kabushiki Kaiga
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] “Oh, very good,’ interrupted Snape, his lip curling. ‘Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. ‘Ghosts are transparent.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince[/box]
Misaki Kobayashi delivers some of the most beautiful and spooky ghost stories ever.
The movie is an anthology of four different stories. The first, “The Black Hair”, concerns an unemployed samurai who deserts his beautiful wife in favor of the wealth and fame provided by a royal marriage in another town. Years later he looks up his first and only true love.
In “The Woman in the Snow”, a ghostly maiden spares the life of a young man stranded in a blizzard. In return, she makes him promise never to repeat the story. Ten years later, he forgets his vow.
“Hoichi, the Earless” is the longest and most memorable segment. It begins by depicting the tragedy when a samurai clan loses a sea battle. Centuries later, the ghosts of the losing side seek to relive their defeat by luring a blind biwa player to recite the story. It is all he and his friends can do to escape their clutches. The final story is “A Cup of Tea”, an unfinished tale in which a samurai official is driven mad by the image he sees in a tea cup.
This film is just gorgeous. The stories are told in a very theatrical, kabuki style with fantastic settings and costumes. The sea battle in “Hoichi” is especially striking with stylized scenes of the struggle alternating with images from a scroll painting. The narratives are measured and deliberate. Those preferring action-packed horror should stay away. Highly recommended to others.
I can’t believe the editors of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die totally dissed Kobayashi (Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion, The Human Condition), one of Japan’s really great filmmakers.
Kwaidan was an Academy-Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
Beyond the Fringe Directed by Duncan Wood Written by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore 1964/UK British Broadcasting Corporation
First viewing/YouTube
[box] Alan Bennett: Life is like a box of sardines and we are all looking for the key.[/box]
Still funny after all these years.
This made-for-TV movie captures the final performance of the seminal satirical review on London’s West End. It’s Alan Bennett, Peter Cooke, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore in one inspired sketch after another, interspersed with Moore on the piano.
Although not a film per se, I couldn’t resist reviewing this show which I’d heard about for years. I liked it even more than I expected. Laughed out loud several times. This is a not to be missed treasure for any Monty Python fan.
Lilith Directed by Robert Rossen Written by Robert Rossen from a novel by J.R. Salamancca 1964/USA Centaur/Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Stephen Evshevsky: How wonderful I feel when I’m happy. Do you think that insanity could be so simple a thing as unhappiness?[/box]
Here is a well-acted love triangle set in an insane asylum.
Vincent Bruce (Warren Beatty) is a troubled returning veteran. He longs to “help people” and applies for a job in a private sanitarium which houses the schizophrenic relatives of the wealthy. He impresses director Dr. Bea Price (Kim Hunter) and she hires him on the spot. He proves to be an able worker and soon makes friends with intellectual Stephen Evshevsky (Peter Fonda) and the beautiful and seductive Lilith (Jean Seberg). Stephen has quite a crush on Lilith.
Poor Vincent tries to resist but cannot ignore Lilith’s charms. They start a clandestine affair that tests his own sanity and could prove tragic.
This was the final film of writer/director Robert Rossen (The Hustler). It features the big screen debuts of Jessica Walters as Vincent’s pre-war sweetheart and Gene Hackman as her crass husband.
Lilith’s character seems to have been written for Seberg and she is absolutely luminous in the part. All the other acting is very good with that of Peter Fonda standing out to me. I enjoyed the film and would recommend it if the plot appeals.
Clip – Lilith can’t help herself even with small boys
A Married Woman (Une femme mariée: Suite de fragments d’un film tourné en 1964) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Written by Jean-Luc Godard 1964/France Anouchka Films/Orsay Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] There is no point in having sharp images when you’ve fuzzy ideas. – Jean-Luc Godard[/box]
Between inane philosophizing and inane dialogue, this is another annoying film from the irritating Jean-Luc Godard.
Charlotte (Macha Merrill) can’t make up her mind between her lover Robert and her husband Pierre. We get plenty of scenes of their endless conversations during lovemaking. She does a lot of lying – or is she really in love with both of them?
To annoy me even more, Godard inserts a bunch of dinner table philosophizing and references to other films and film makers.
There is no denying that Godard was an innovator. I just don’t like his innovations. His other film of 1964 is Band of Outsiders. I remember liking that one so I will give Jean-Luc another chance.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
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