Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Ralph Breaks the Internet (Dir: Rich Moore & Phil Johnston (2018).

A sequel to a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature is a rare beast. While the 1990s and early 2000s were plagued with cheaply made straight-to-video sequels (a few of which did gain cinema release) produced by the television arm DisneyToon Studios, no feature since the 2008 release The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel’s Beginning (Peggy Holmes) has bared this indignity. Other animation studios such as Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky have regularly released sequels to their biggest hits with varying quality, but I was glad that Disney had abandoned exploiting their product in this way, especially as their last decade has seen a run of exceptional original movies, arguably their best since the Walt-era features. So it was with some trepidation that I viewed Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to the excellent 2012 original Wreck It Ralph and I am happy to report that I was not too disappointed.

Ralph Breaks the Internet sees video game buddies Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz leave their respective games in Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade and travel to the internet, initially eBay, in order to retrieve a spare part to repair Vanellope’s Sugar Rush game. On the way they visit the noirish Dark Net and unwittingly unleash a devastating virus but not before a sojourn in hyper-real racing game Slaughter Race and an encounter with the Disney Princesses in a neat cameo via the Oh My Disney website. 

Yeah, the plot is slightly convoluted! This is where Ralph 2 suffers most in comparison to the original movie; the simple story of bad guy who wants to be good is simply more appealing, not to mention more streamlined, than what is on offer here. It also has a mildly unsatisfying conclusion and a slightly muddled message, a little at odds with that of the first film. Still, Ralph Breaks the Internet is a lot of fun and is visually spectacular. While this movie doesn’t quite live up to the original it is certainly well worth 2 hours of anybody’s time and I guess bodes well for the next Disney Animation sequel, due for release in November 2019; a little movie named Frozen 2…

Wreck It Ralph (2012)

Wreck It Ralph (Dir: Rich Moore, 2012).

Walt Disney Animation Studios first decade of the 21st Century was one of change and uncertainty. The practice of releasing cheaply made straight-to-video sequels to their most successful features was undoubtedly damaging to the Disney brand. The costly failure of ambitious efforts Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 2001) and Treasure Planet (Ron Clements & Jon Musker, 2002) and a shift in public taste toward computer generated features saw Disney lose its position of industry leader to newer animation studios Pixar and DreamWorks. Yet with the release of box office hits Bolt (Chris Williams & Byron Howard, 2008) and Tangled (Nathan Greno & Byron Howard) it appeared that Disney had finally regained their footing in the field of feature animation. Disney’s new-found winning streak continued in 2012 with Wreck It Ralph. 

Ideally suited to CGI animation, Wreck it Ralph takes place entirely within the video games of Litwak’s Family Fun Center & Arcade. Titular Ralph is the bad guy from 1980s era 8-bit game Fix-It-Felix Jr. In a plot that somewhat recalls The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993), Ralph (John C Reilly), tired of his bad guy status travels from his own game to hyper-realistic shoot-‘em-up Hero’s Duty to candy cart racing game Sugar Rush in his attempt to earn a medal and prove himself the good guy. En route he befriends glitchy outcast racer Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) whom he aides in her quest to become a champion racer. 

The video game worlds are beautifully realised in director Rich Moore‘s visually stunning movie. Every aspect of Wreck It Ralph is top notch from Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee’s screenplay to Henry Jackman’s score to the superlative voice work of Riley and Silverman. Whether you are a gamer or not there is much to enjoy in this genuinely inventive, surprisingly moving modern classic that I believe is one the best movies released by Disney in the post-Walt era, better even than the mighty Frozen (Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, 2013). 

A sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, was released in 2018, my thoughts on which you can read soon... 

Double Switch (1987)

Double Switch (Dir: David Greenwalt, 1987). 

With the creation of The Disney Channel and the return of the Disney anthology series to the ABC network, the 1980s saw a renaissance in Disney made-for-TV movies. Ironically this was at a time when Disney branded cinema releases had all but ground to a halt; 1984 saw no new Disney movies save for Splash (Ron Howard) and Country (Richard Pearce) both distributed under their newly formed ‘adult’ Touchstone Films banner. 

Double Switch premiered in two parts on the newly re-titled Disney Sunday Movie series. This contemporary take on Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper stars George Newbern in the dual roles of geeky high school student Matt Bundy and spoiled yet isolated popstar Bartholomew who switch places for some comedy hi-jinks and poignant life lessons. Elisabeth Shue is the only recognisable name in an otherwise no-star cast; the following year would see her breakthrough role in Adventures in Babysitting (Chris Columbus) and two years later she would inherit the part of Jennifer in Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 1989). 

With its synth rock soundtrack, legwarmer clad dancers and capitalist aesthetics, Double Switch is a movie which could only have been made in the Eighties, the decade of excess. Juxtaposing high school life and rockstar masquerades, Double Switch is kind of John Hughes lite meets Hannah Montana and one gets the feeling that were this made 20 years later we would be shopping for Bartholomew CDs, lunch boxes and backpacks at The Disney Store. 

While barely remembered today, this movie isn’t half bad. Sure the music is a little generic and the comedy is somewhat laboured, but Newbern does well in the lead and if, like me, you enjoyed this when you were 12 you will probably get a nostalgic kick out of it now. Disney’s more faithful adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper (Don Chaffey, 1962) and their similarly themed classic The Parent Trap (David Swift, 1961) are both vastly superior movies. Double Switch is nowhere near as essential as those but is entertaining nonsense all the same. 

Gangster Squad (2013)

Gangster Squad (Dir: Ruben Fleischer, 2013). 

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this movie is the first film in the ‘La La Land’ franchise! In spite of featuring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in leading roles against a backdrop of Los Angeles, Gangster Squad is, as its title would imply, a pretty violent yet kinda glossy mob movie. 

Josh Brolin heads up a fabulous cast including Gosling, Stone, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Peña in a fictionalised account of the LAPD’s attempts to wrest control of the city from Mob boss Mickey Cohen, a heavily made-up Sean Penn seemingly channelling Al Pacino’s Big Boy Caprice from Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990). The cast cannot be faulted. Neither can cinematographer Dion Beebe who utilises every conceivable shade of brown in a stylish recreation of 1949 LA. 

However, as terrific as the cast is and as lovely as it looks, Gangster Squad is perhaps not quite the movie it may have been. With its dark, noir-ish themes and its vintage Los Angeles setting it kind of gives the impression of wanting to be LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997). While it is undoubtedly a quality production, it just isn’t as good as that masterpiece. 

I love a 1930s gangster movie almost as much as I love a 1940s crime thriller, so I guess Gangster Squad had a lot of built-in appeal for me and I did enjoy it. It’s just that I have seen this sort of thing done better. As noir homage LA Confidential can’t be beat. If it’s a lovingly recreated 1930s era gangster flick you want, check out Joel and Ethan Coen’s superior Miller’s Crossing (1990).

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Dir: Robert Stevenson, 1971). 

It was inevitable that, sooner or later, I would post a review of Walt Disney Productions’ Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I have watched this movie more times than any other, losing count when I hit three figures. I wouldn’t say it is the best film I have ever seen but I would say it has given me more pleasure over the years than any other.

Often compared unfavourably and, I feel, unfairly with Disney’s 1964 blockbuster Mary Poppins, it reunited most of the creative team and star David Tomlinson from the earlier film. It also shares with it a lengthy ‘Jolly Holiday’-esq animated sequence and a basic premise about a magical governess. Yet the plot, taken from yet having little in common with Mary Norton’s book, about an amateur witch’s attempts to repel a Nazi invasion in wartime Britain with the help of three cockney waifs, is markedly different from Poppins and Tomlinson’s performance as a loveable charlatan magician is completely different from the repressed banker and estranged father he portrayed in Poppins. 

To be honest, it isn’t as good a film as Mary Poppins. It has a messy, episodic narrative which zealous editing - there are at least five different official versions of the film - was not entirely successful at tidying up. The international and US re-release version, at roughly 100 minutes, has the most satisfying narrative but cuts virtually all of Richard and Robert Sherman’s excellent songs; those that do remain are butchered, the lavish Portobello Road suffering most noticeably. An attempt in 1996 to restore the film to its original, and sadly lost, premier length brings the runtime to 139 minutes but suffers from poor dubbing on scenes where the audio could not be found. 

In spite of narrative issues the standard, roughly two hour release print is the default and best version of Bedknobs... Director Robert Stevenson is almost successful at recreating the ol’ Poppins magic; Ward Kimball’s inventive animated excursion to the Island of Naboombu is the undoubted highlight of Disney Animation’s 1970s output; the effects work, including some incredible puppetry of bodiless suits of armour in the epic climax, hold up well against modern CGI techniques and the performance from stars Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson and company are exemplary. The Sherman Brother’s songs, including The Age of Not Believing, Beautiful Briny and the spectacular Portobello Road are among their best, perhaps a shade down from their work on Poppins, but there is no shame in coming second place to arguably the greatest musical score ever written for the cinema! 

I reiterate, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is not as great a piece of filmmaking as Mary Poppins, but as a child I enjoyed it more. I certainly watched it more often. While perhaps it doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts, I think it is highly entertaining, is rightly regarded a classic and should probably be regarded a masterpiece, albeit a flawed masterpiece. 

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates (1962)

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates (Dir: Norman Foster, 1962). 

Originally shown in January 1962 in two parts on the television anthology series Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, Hans Brinker was released to cinemas internationally in 1964. An adaptation of the popular children’s novel by Mary Mapes Dodge, the movie stars Rony Zeaner as the titular Hans, a struggling Dutch artist who enters a skating contest in hope of winning the prize money to pay for an operation for his father who is injured while attempting to repair local sea defences. 

Despite its TV origins Hans Brinker is, like virtually all Disney releases of its era, a high quality product. While it’s narrative is divided neatly in two halves and the fades for commercial breaks are noticeable I can imagine watching this on original release, probably as the second half of a double bill, unaware of its made for TV status due to its high production values. 

Shot on location on the Zuider Zee and in Rembrandt’s Amsterdam home and featuring a largely Dutch cast and crew it is markedly different in tone from Disney’s American product. It is a slow moving drama punctuated by the excitement of the storm battled dam rescue, a kidnapping and the inevitable skating contest. Davy Crockett’s Norman Foster directs in a low-key yet professional manner as befits the story. 

While I found much to enjoy in this movie I will admit it is probably something of an acquired taste and possibly of interest more to Disney historians than casual viewers. However, if you are in the mood for low-key family drama cum Netherlands travelogue you could do much worse than seek out Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates. 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Dir: Lasse Hallström & Joe Johnston, 2018). 

Originally posted on Instagram 11/03/19:  

I could easily fill this review with superlatives about the amazing production design of this movie. It is exquisite, as are the beautiful costumes. The effects work is also top quality. The estimated $120-130 million budget is right up on the screen for all to see. The entire film is a truly sumptuous feast for the eyes and is easily one of the best looking movies I have ever seen, if not the best. 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is loosely based upon E T A Hoffman’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse’ and the Tchaikovsky ballet which also serves in part as the basis for the James Newton Howard score. It concerns a young girl (Mackenzie Foy) who travels Narnia-style from Victorian London to the otherworldly Four Realms in search of the key to an ornamental egg gifted to her by her late mother. Here she must re-unite the warring realms aided by the titular nutcracker and a fantastic cast including Helen Mirren, Richard E Grant and Keira Knightley hamming it up to great effect as the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

In spite of the excellent cast and stunning production Nutcracker is not entirely without its problems. Extensive re-shoots resulted in the duel director credit for Hallström and Johnston and at only 99 minutes it could easily withstand being a little longer. Indeed, the ballet itself is less prominent than expected and the Four Realms of the title are barely visited save for the Land of Amusements where most of the action takes place, possibly a sign of some hasty editing. 

Yet, this aside, I found much to enjoy in this extravagant fantasy and am baffled by the poor reception it received upon released. It isn’t perfect but it is beautiful to behold. With its Yuletide setting and general Christmassy vibe it may well find its audience through future festive television screenings. It is certainly a movie that deserves to be seen.

Gus (1976)

Gus (Dir: Vincent McEveety, 1976). 

By 1976, 10 years after the death of its founder, Walt Disney Productions were struggling for relevance in a changing film industry which had largely moved away from family entertainment to more adult fare. The fantasy comedies which were the company’s mainstay had been a Disney staple since The Shaggy Dog (Charles Barton) had hit big in 1959. However, nearly two decades later, what had once seemed fresh and inventive had become tired and formulaic. Budgets were kept low so the films made a small profit and Gus, with it stock footage and unconvincing back-projection was, indeed, a minor success. 

Its plot, as high concept as it is ludicrous, involves a Yugoslavian mule with a talent for 100 yard field goals who is hired by failing US football team The Atoms. The human cast is headed by Edward Asner doing his lovably gruff bit as The Atoms manager and he is supported by familiar 70s faces Don Knotts, Tim Conway and Tom Bosley. Considering the material the cast do a decent job and some genuine laughs are to be had from the visual gags involving The Atoms ageing cheerleaders and Gus the mule running amok in a supermarket! 

The movie Gus feels something of a cousin to Disney’s earlier The World’s Greatest Athlete (Robert Scheerer, 1973) and if you enjoyed that you will probably like this. To be fair, I lapped up this sort of thing as a child and taken for what it is Gus is entertaining, cheap and cheerful formulaic fun! 

Oliver! (1968)

Oliver! (Dir: Carol Reed, 1968). 

Carol Reed’s movie adaptation of Lionel Bart’s blockbuster stage musical is a universally acclaimed, multi-award winning masterpiece. Based, of course, on Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, it is certainly a sanitised depiction of Victorian East End London; a film about child exploitation, populated by thieves and murderers should probably not make for suitable family entertainment, and yet it does. 

A top drawer cast includes unknown juveniles Mark Lester, winsomely appealing in the title role and Jack Wild giving a spirited and charismatic performance as Dodger. Of the adults, Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes and Harry Secombe as Mr Bumble are all impressive but perhaps the stand out is the previously little known Shani Wallis. As Nancy, Ms Wallis gives a genuinely moving, sympathetic performance. It’s staggering to think that Oliver! did not launch her to international movie stardom.

Bart’s outstanding score is easily one of the best to grace stage or screen; unusually for any musical all 13 songs taken from the show, from Food Glorious Food to Om Pah Pah have entered the public conscious and are all exquisitely staged, lavish production numbers.

In spite of the tremendous critical and commercial success of Oliver! by 1968 the big budget family musical was becoming a less commercially viable prospect for Hollywood. The previous year had seen the commercial failure of Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire (Norman Tokar) and Fox’s Doctor Doolittle (Richard Fleischer) and in the half decade since its initial release few non-animated film musicals have had anywhere near its impact. Although the genre has undergone a successful revival, with such recent examples as Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall, 2018) and the live-action Beauty and the Beast (Bill Condon, 2017), as good as those movies may be, have not managed to match it for artistry or sheer entertainment. 

It is easy to see why critics and audiences were so enamoured by Oliver! as 50 years on it remains a genuinely fantastic film that withstands many repeated viewings.

The Ghosts of Buxley Hall (1980)

The Ghosts of Buxley Hall (Dir: Bruce Bilson, 1980). 

Originally screened in two parts on the long running Disney anthology series, at this point in its history broadcast on NBC under the Disney’s Wonderful World banner; The Ghosts of Buxley Hall is a throwback to Disney fantasy comedies such as Blackbeard’s Ghost (Robert Stevenson, 1968) and Charley and the Angel (Vincent McEveety, 1973). 

Failing military academy Buxley Hall is forced to merge with a cash strapped girls school, enraging the ghosts of founder General Eulace C Buxton, cohort Sergeant Major Chester B Sweet and wife Betina Buxley (played by Dick O’Neill, Victor French and Louise Latham respectively). Their focus soon shifts to aiding new student Jeremy (Red Daly) whose scheming aunt and uncle threaten both the future of the school and more importantly the well being of their nephew. 

Although very much a product of its time The Ghosts of Buxley Hall is undemanding formulaic fun. It has a welcome, albeit slight, feminist message, although some may find gags involving smoking and alcoholism and some mild risqué humour involving a sex education class a little out of place in a family movie. With regards to modern audiences, I imagine this film is more likely to appeal to grownup children of the 1970s/80s than by actual children. 

Is The Ghosts of Buxley Hall a good movie? Not particularly. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I kinda did. It felt nostalgic, raised the odd smile and kept me out of mischief for 90 odd minutes. 

The Land Before Time (1988)

The Land Before Time (Don Bluth, 1988).

In 1979 director Don Bluth famously led an animators walk out at the Disney Studios to form his own company Don Bluth Productions. Their first feature length venture The Secret of NIMH (Bluth, 1982) while critically well received was a commercial disappointment and it wasn’t until after Bluth released the groundbreaking coin operated video game Dragon’s Lair that Hollywood once again came calling. The Land Before Time was to be Bluth’s third feature and his second, following An American Tale (1986) for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, co-produced by Lucasfilm. 

This surprisingly downbeat dinosaur adventure is something of a prehistoric Bambi meets The Incredible Journey as longneck Littlefoot, after the death of his mother and separation from his grandparents, teams up with a band of similarly lost young dinos to find their families in the fabled Great Valley. 

Just as An American Tail was pitted against Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective on original release, The Land Before Time found itself competing against Disney’s Oliver and Company in late ‘88. Unlike on the previous meeting, Disney’s movie was box office champ. However, I would argue that, on this occasion, Bluth’s movie is superior. 

Unlike the numerous made for video sequels, the original Land Before Time features some beautiful animation, and while its plot is quite basic and occasionally saccharine, it is sophisticated enough to engage adults as well as children. 

At little over an hour The Land Before Time is short and sweet. Stick around for the end titles for Diana Ross’ lovely ballad ‘If We Hold On Together’. 

La La Land (2016)

La La Land (Dir: Damien Chazelle, 2016)

I am writing this almost a week after watching so apologise in advance for a review which is light on insight and heavy on vague observations (when are they ever anything but?). 

This widely acclaimed homage to the golden age of Hollywood musicals was a first watch for me. It’s somewhat simple plot concerns the rollercoaster romantic and professional trials of aspiring actress Emma Stone and struggling jazz pianist Ryan Gosling. While proudly declaring its love of classic Hollywood, this often low-key film feels much closer in spirit to Jacques Demy’s French language classic The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) than any actual Hollywood musical. 

Where La La Land most strongly recalls the Hollywood musical is in it’s lovely saturated colour palette which would befit a 1940’s MGM Technicolor extravaganza and in the staging of musical numbers, A Lovely Night in particular and in its climax, a clever ode to those extended modern ballet numbers popular in 1950’s musicals, most famously An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 1951). For me it also strongly recalled the finale of The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 1979), but that might just be me! 

The score is strong, notably the beautifully melancholic recurring theme City of Dreams. The dancing skills of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone was rightly acclaimed. Neither are singers, their pleasant vocals recalls the non-singer casting of Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1955) and works fine in context. 

For all its vintage Hollywood flourish, La La Land has a slightly melancholy almost anti-Hollywood musical narrative and feels less like a traditional musical than its more pop music oriented contemporary The Greatest Showman (Michael Gracey, 2017). Whether it will be as fondly remembered in 65 years time  as the musicals of 65+ years ago to which it pays homage, I am not sure but I did enjoy it. It’s a good movie, nicely performed and beautifully made. 

Susan Slept Here (1954)

Susan Slept Here (Dir: Frank Tashlin, 1954).

Frank Tashlin made his name as an animation director at Warner Bros’ Termite Terrace before graduating to live action slapstick comedies of questionable taste such as The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) and this movie Susan Slept Here. 

As with much of Tashlin’s work Susan Slept Here is very much anchored to the decade in which it was made. The convoluted plot concerns Hollywood scriptwriter Dick Powell and 17 year old juvenile delinquent Debbie Reynolds who is given to Powell as a ‘gift’ on Christmas Eve in order to keep her out of jail during the festive period. 

Recalling such better comedies as Billy Wilder’s The Major and the Minor (1942) and the Preston Sturgess scripted Remember the Night (Mitchell Leisen, 1942), Tashlin’s middle age male fantasy remains just about on the right side of good taste. Were this movie made today it would certainly raise eyebrows and maybe it did in 1954. If it was made today I doubt the subject would be given the light and fluffy rom com treatment. As it is the movie is far more palatable than expected, thanks to the appealing performances of Powell and Reynolds and the assured direction of Tashlin who could turn out this sort of material in his sleep. The highly saturated Technicolor photography shows off the 1950s decor in all its garish splendour and Reynolds gets the opportunity to show off her considerable dancing skills in a very much of its period dream sequence. 

To fully enjoy Susan Slept Here requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, not least to accept 55 year old Powell as the 35 year old object of Reynolds’ desire. It is by no means a classic but neither is it the vacuum of good taste I was expecting. Fans of its director and stars, particularly Debbie Reynolds, will probably find much to enjoy. 

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

The Kid Who Would Be King (Dir: Joe Cornish, 2019)

Writer/director Joe Cornish’s post-Harry Potter fantasy stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis as otherwise unremarkable schoolboy Alex who stumbles upon King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur, launching himself and his friends on  a quest to save the world from Arthur’s ancient foe Morgana and a personal quest to find Alex’s absent father. 

As with other recent medieval themed movies King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (Guy Ritchie, 2017) and Robin Hood (Otto Bathurst, 2018) The Kid Who Would Be King is underperforming at the box office. Do not, however, let its underwhelming commercial impact deter you from experiencing this fun Goonies-esq romp. 

With pleasing performances from its mostly juvenile cast and some stunningly realised fantasy sequences, The Kid Who Would Be King features an arguably more satisfying narrative than the most recent entry into the Potter franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. It also features an outstanding performance from  relative unknown Angus Imrie, striking the right balance of austere reverence and sheer oddity as young Merlin the magician. 

A mix of Arthurian mythology and housing estate humdrum, The Kid Who Would Be King feels distinctly and refreshingly British and carries a welcome anti-Brexit message. It is a good-natured, solidly entertaining family adventure, perfect for the school holidays. 

Santa Claus aka Santa Claus vs the Devil (1959)

Santa Claus aka Santa Claus vs the Devil (Dir: Rene Cardona, 1959).

Unraveling like one of my better fever dreams, the weird and wonderful Santa Claus is a 1959 Mexican production, re-cut and dubbed into English by schlock movie producer K Gordon Murray and released in the US for Christmas in 1960.

José Elías Moreno stars as Santa as he is pitted against devil minion Pitch, portrayed by dancer José Luis Aguirre, in a bid to save the festive season from the clutches of Lucifer. 

Seemingly made with an eye on the international market, Cardona’s film is a mishmash of Mexican, US and British cultural references (who knew Merlin the Magician was an ally of Santa?). Santa’s workshop (which is in space by the way) is filled with some frankly freaky gadgets. Everyone knows that “he sees you when you’re sleeping” but who ever thought it was through a re-purposed vacuum cleaner hose with a human eye on the end? Or that he listens to us by way of what looks like a severed human ear attached to a fan? All of this is relayed to Santa via a bulky bit of machinery complete with a massive pair of human lips! 

It is true that much in this children’s film could terrify those of a sensitive disposition and no one would argue that it is a good film. In fact many would argue that it is a very bad film. It is certainly camp and kitschy and little of it makes much sense, but it does features some weirdly attractive mid-century modern style sets and it means well; I have to admit that part of me enjoyed it un-ironically. 

With its copyright having long-ago lapsed, Santa Claus is easily to find on-line in varying states of decay. If you are inclined to watch it (and you really should be!) I suggest you find a decent print and settle yourself down for 95 minutes of incredulous festive fun! 

Davy (1959)

Davy (Dir: Michael Ralph, 1958).

Notable as the first British film shot in Technirama and featuring a lovely muted Technicolor palette, Davy is often regarded as the final Ealing comedy. In truth this is a bit of a misnomer. A better description of Davy would be a comedy drama which happened to be released by the Ealing Studios, as it has little of the characteristics associated with Ealing and the comedy is some rather heavy handed slapstick. 

Harry Secombe stars as the titular Davy, the only real talented member of a family vaudeville act. When he is given the chance to audition for Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House he must decide whether to keep the act together or go it alone. 

Much of the comedy in Davy is confined to sequences of the family’s act and is not really part of the narrative. The remainder of the film is somewhat downbeat in tone and not really a comedy at all. Secombe and his beautiful singing voice are undoubtedly the film’s strong suit and one feels that with a better showcase for his talents he could have carved out a successful film career. As it is, Davy was seen as a critical and commercial disappointment. 

However Davy is by no means a bad film. If you watch it expecting an Ealing comedy you will be disappointed; if you approach it as a low-key drama with musical interludes there is much to enjoy.

The Wrong Man (1956)

The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956).

Originally posted on Instagram 15/02/19:

Henry Fonda stars as ‘Manny’ Balestrero, a Stork Club musician wrongly arrested for robbery. 

Unusually for Hitchcock, The Wrong Man is a true story and befitting the subject he shoots in a stark documentary style on the real life locations on which the story takes place. The director cameo, gallows humour and exotic locales which characterise much his 1950’s oeuvre is absent in what is Hitchcock’s most serious work. 

Fonda is excellent in the role of Manny, conveying fear and bemusement with complete conviction. Vera Miles is equally convincing as his wife whose descent into mental illness is, thankfully, handled with sensitivity and taste. Support comes in the form of underrated British Star Anthony Quayle. 

Lacking the glossy flamboyance of much of the director’s mid/late 50s movies, The Wrong Man is none the worse for it. This was a first time view for me and I would certainly regard it as among Hitchcock’s finest work. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Hey there! My name is Mike and I LOVE movies! All movies. Old movies, new movies, good movies bad movies. I also love talking and writing about movies. 

My aim is to review every movie I watch this year. I began on 1st January on Instagram and have been slowly rolling it out across other platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Thanks to some positive feedback on social media, I have decided to launch Jingle Bones Movie Time as a fully fledged blog! 

I would love people to engage in discussion so you are welcome to interact. Please keep it nice as I would like this to be a friendly space. I have never blogged before and am not especially tech savvy so this whole proccess may be slow going! 

Apologies to my followers on social media as, for the time being at least, these posts will be familiar to you. I also intended to continue posting to the sites I already post on, so look me up on those too if you care to! I am known as jingle_bones on Instagram and Jingle Bones Movie Time elsewhere. 

Also, these early posts are kinda brief but please stick with them. They do improve! 

Anyhow, if you enjoy movies, please join me on my viewing adventures. Thanks folks!

Ruby Gentry (1952)

Ruby Gentry (Dir: King Vidor, 1952).

A ripe slice of Southern Gothic with Jennifer Jones as gun toting, skinny jeans wearing, swamp wildcat Ruby; using her womanly wiles to ensnare local stud Charlton Heston and marrying wealthy, lonely chump Karl Malden. 

Jones is literally wild in the part of Ruby and is undoubtedly the movie’s greatest asset. Heston is less effective in a role perhaps slightly underwritten and which does not particularly play to his strengths as an actor. Malden, by contrast, is fantastic in this sort of thing (see ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Baby Doll’) and demonstrates why he was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand character actors. 

Admittedly, there is, probably, an unpleasant, deeply misogynistic subtext about powerful women in this movie, as Ruby, with her new found wealth, wreaks revenge on the townsfolk who hold her in distain and upon the man she thought was in love with her. A better writer than I would go into this in greater depth (and if anyone wishes to, please do so in the comments below - polite, serious discussion is welcome and encouraged!) 

In spite of this, I must confess, I love a 50s melodrama, where what was once torrid and sexy has become overblown and camp. Ruby Gentry is hopelessly dated, but that is not to suggest that it isn’t also wholly entertaining if you are in the right mood! 

I Confess (1953)

I Confess (Dir: Alfred Hitchcock, 1953)

While I Confess is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s lesser known films, it is certainly not one of his lesser works. 

The plot concerns a Catholic Priest to whom is confessed a murder which his oath prevents him from telling the authorities of. Knowledge of a pre-priesthood affair with a married woman who was being blackmailed by the victim implicates the priest as the culprit. 

While Montgomery Clift is not the obvious casting choice as a Catholic priest he acquits himself well here. Nobody does angst like Monty and Hitchcock, famously not a fan of the method acting to which Clift subscribed, extracts a nuanced and believable performance from the star in a seemingly difficult part. Able support comes from Anne Baxter as his former lover and Karl Malden as the dogged investigating officer. 

While not as showy as much of Hitchcock’s work - nobody dangles from the Statue of Liberty or is pursued across Mount Rushmore - it is beautiful shot in black and white on the Quebec locations on which it is set. This unfamiliar setting gives the film a decidedly un-Hollywood atmosphere, maybe a contributing factor to the film’s popularity in France while it was overlooked in the US.

While it is perhaps the most uncharacteristically Hitchcockian of the director’s work, I Confess holds up as a unique, unfairly neglected gem.

On Dangerous Ground (1951)

On Dangerous Ground (Dir: Nicholas Ray, 1951). 

Originally posted on Instagram 11/02/19:

A stellar cast including Robert Ryan, Ida Lupino and Ward Bond feature in Nicholas Ray’s tough and surprisingly violent film noir-ish thriller. 

On Dangerous Ground is kind of a movie of two halves. The first sees sadistic cop Ryan clash with the lowlife of New York’s mean streets. However, after one display of brutality too many he is sent out of town to a rural, snow-covered isolated small town to track down the killer of a young girl, having to deal with the girl’s vengeful father and the killer’s blind sister. 

The beautiful, contrasty monochrome photography in the second half is a definite plus, and the relationship that develops between Ryan and Lupino is unexpectedly tender. 

A fairly overlooked title among Ray’s work, On Dangerous Ground is an enjoyably gritty hardboiled 50’s crime flick. 

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Hey there! My name is Mike and I LOVE movies! All movies. Old movies, new movies, good movies bad movies. I also love talking and writing about movies. 

My aim is to review every movie I watch this year. I began on 1st January on Instagram and have been slowly rolling it out across other platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Thanks to some positive feedback on social media, I have decided to launch Jingle Bones Movie Time as a fully fledged blog! 

I would love people to engage in discussion so you are welcome to interact. Please keep it nice as I would like this to be a friendly space. I have never blogged before and am not especially tech savvy so this whole proccess may be slow going! 

Apologies to my followers on social media as, for the time being at least, these posts will be familiar to you. I also intended to continue posting to the sites I already post on, so look me up on those too if you care to! I am known as jingle_bones_movie_time on Instagram and Jingle Bones Movie Time elsewhere. 

Also, these early posts are kinda brief but please stick with them. They do improve! 

Anyhow, if you enjoy movies, please join me on my viewing adventures. Thanks folks!