Matt Helm entry needs a wrecking ball

THE WRECKING CREW (1968)

Reviewed By Jerry Saravia

The Wrenchingly Awful Crew. This last Matt Helm entry is such a stilted, forced, bland and stupendously awful film that I am surprised it was even released in theatres. Dean Martin is the superspy but he seems so indifferent to the chaos of the story (something to do with the movement of gold bars) that, well, you kinda wish Dino would've passed on this and sang more songs with the Rat Pack at the Stardust.

The whole movie is meant to be a joke, a parody of James Bond, if only the cast was in on the joke. The late Sharon Tate is one of many women that bed Matt Helm, though she seems uncomfortable playing a supposed klutz of a spy. Nigel Green is the bad guy, though he seems almost as indifferent as everyone else in the movie. The fight scenes are idiotic (sorry Mr. Bruce Lee but the staging is flat), the sophisticated weapons include nothing more than a black sock that is hurled at Green's minions, a film camera that emits green fog (!), a briefcase that contains the parts to assemble a helicopter, and so on. To top it off, some of Dino's songs are heard at the oddest moments, ostensibly more of an intrusion than a helping hand to advance the nonexistent plot.

One curious note: I know this movie is a joke but I am curious about Green's sophisticated surveillance. He is in a control room in his house where he has a camera in every part of his estate, including areas where cameras couldn't possibly exist. For example, he keeps an eye on a train that contains the gold and can view it through his various monitors from many different angles, including several aerial shots, medium shots on the sides of the trains, etc. How does he get the aerial shots if he has no helicopters keeping track of the train? How come the boxcars don't seem to have any cameras attached to them? That's about the only humorous gag I can think of for this sad piece of horse dung known as "The Wrecking Crew."

A three-second kiss is still a kiss

NOTORIOUS (1946)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Of all of Alfred Hitchcock's love stories, "Notorious" is one of the most romantic and truly illuminating. Illumination is the key to the film's success. With a plot centering on Nazis and uranium, the heart of the film is really the electric chemistry between Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, and a suspenseful final act that will leave you breathless with excitement.

"Notorious" begins with a fabulous shot of Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman, who is having a party after learning of her father's conviction for Nazi spying. She tries to forget, and we notice the back of a stranger's head seated at the party but we don't who he is except perhaps Alicia's possible suitor. Later, she is drunk and recklessly drives with the man (Cary Grant), who turns out to be a CIA agent named Devlin. Devlin has a job for her, and she is reluctant to participate and is annoyed she did not get a speeding ticket. The job entails Alicia getting intimate with a former lover of hers, Sebastian (Claude Rains), who runs a spy ring and may be involved with hiding uranium in wine bottles (a substance used in making bombs). Eventually, Sebastian deeply falls in love with her and marries her. Devlin grows jealous, realizing he loves her. Unfortunately, Sebastian watches Alicia like a hawk, and Hitchcock is brilliant at showing that subjective sense of looks and stares as he does in the party sequence..

"Notorious" has a special degree of illumination provided by its lighting schemes, and by Bergman's iridescent beauty. Along with Catherine Denueve, Bergman is indeed one of the most beautiful women in film history and Hitchcock exploits that beauty to great effect. Whether she is seated at a cafe or in bed writhing with pain due to the effect of arsenic in her tea, she never looks less than glamorous.

Cary Grant is the straight man, and more subtle than in his other films - he is passive and grows jealous but it is his dialogue that speak great truths of his emotions. At one point, while hearing about the CIA's plans, he refers to another agent's bridge-playing wife as boring in contrast to Alicia's looseness and promiscuity. Devlin holds his emotions in check, acting stern and disapproving of Alicia and her immediate marriage.

Claude Rains is one of the finest most astute actors ever, and here he is also restrained - his looks and glances suggest everything. There is also the sense that he does care for Alicia...and perhaps is more trustworthy than Devlin even after learning her secret.

Hitchcock has a tremendous number of tricks up his sleeve, and some shots are astounding in their impact - they greatly help build tension and suspense. The three-minute kissing scene between Grant and Bergman is as sensual and sexually charged as any scene from today's steamy thrillers - what makes it so luscious is the interruption of the kisses and the embraces. At that time, the Hollywood Production Code would not allow for kisses to last longer than three seconds. This scene foreshadows the final moments from the bedroom to the staircase where Grant descends while helping the sickly Bergman - the spy ring and Sebastian watch. There is also a superb zoom-in shot from the top of the staircase to a close-up shot of Bergman's hand holding the key to the wine cellar where the uranium is hidden. The wine cellar sequence is also bewitching - Grant carefully removing bottles that obstruct the view of a wine schedule while one slips away and breaks revealing uranium particles - and it also builds to a great kissing scene. This film is definitely one of Hitchcock's prime examples of visual elegance.

"Notorious" is not as densely complex as "Vertigo" or "North By Northwest," but it is packed with suspense and thrills galore. And its emotionally romantic love story shows the Master knew how to deal with human relationships.

Smitten Hepburn in the Summer

SUMMERTIME (1955)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Katharine Hepburn was one of the most vigorous, attractive, sophisticated women to ever appear on the silver screen. She was also one of our most versatile actresses with a body of work that included "The Philadelphia Story," "Adam's Rib," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and, one of her last great roles, "On Golden Pond." "Summertime" is one of the most beautiful movies to ever take place in Venice: a luscious, delicate comedy-drama by director David Lean ("Dr. Zhivago"). For those of you who remember 1994's "Only You" - the sappy romantic comedy with Robert Downey Jr. set in Venice - this is far superior to that film.

Based on Arthur Laurents' play "The Time of the Cuckoo," Hepburn stars as the independent, lonely Jane Hudson who has just arrived in Venice: a secretary from Ohio who is looking for romance and adventure. She stays at the "Pensione Fiorini" hotel, converses with other fellow Americans such as the Yaeghers, an older couple, and an unknown artist (a very young Darren McGavin), and she spouts such Italian phrases as "bravo" and "prego" while filming every landmark she sees with her 8mm film camera. One sunny day at a cafe, Jane notices a handsome Italian gentleman staring at her - she is overcome with feelings but she resists them (She wants to be around people but somehow finds an inner peace when isolated). Eventually, she runs into him again at an antique store just before buying an 18th century red goblet. The gentleman's name is Renato de Rossi (Rosanno Brazzi), an antique store owner and, before you know it, they fall madly in love. Naturally, Jane discovers that Renato is married.

"Summertime" is a slight film compared to Lean's other works, such as "Dr. Zhivago" or the underrated "Ryan's Daughter," but it is superbly acted, well-written, and subtly directed. Hepburn manages to be likable, stubborn, fierce, and loving. Brazzi makes a perfect companion for Hepburn: romantic, charming and charismatic. Who can ever forget her her unforced and hysterical walk into the river while filming with her camera? You'll have a delightful time with the invigorating "Summertime" - it is more than a travelogue of Venice.

An existential punch to the gut

POINT BLANK (1967)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Richly textured with blazing images and oblique sounds, John Boorman's "Point Blank" might well be the type of movie David Lynch would've made back in 1967 had he been a director then. It is a souped-up, rough and tough noir picture of machismo crossed with surreal imaginings, mostly from seeing the world inside of the protagonist's mind that is Lee Marvin's Walker .

The story is very simple. Walker has participated in a bungled heist at Alcatraz that results in his friend, a mobster named Reese (John Vernon) shooting him several times and leaving him for dead, and escaping with Walker's wife. Walker miraculously survives his seemingly mortal wounds, swims across the river, and a year later, he exacts revenge on his friend and everyone else. He also wants his 93,000 dollars he was to receive from the heist. After Walker has beat and shot several people linked to this heist, he still can't get his money. Nobody will pay him. And when a moment arrives when it looks like Walker will receive his money, something goes awry.

After watching "Point Blank" I felt a little dismayed and disappointed with it, asking myself, "what on earth is this movie about other than a thief trying to get his money?" But it is also the kind of noir picture that sticks with you, and it helps that Lee Marvin, one of the best tough guys in cinema history, makes it all palatable and nuanced. Especially effective are the placement of flashbacks to a kinder, smitten Walker with his wife-to-be. Then are also recurring flashbacks to Walker seeing his friend Reese at a loud party in one of the most frenetic party sequences ever filmed, made all the more flashy for noticing how little we can actually hear their conversation until, bit by bit, it becomes clearer.

For those who have seen Steven Soderbergh's "The Limey," "Point Blank" is more than an inspiration or an homage, it is to some degree the same movie. Whereas Soderbergh's film ends with an emotional punch, Boorman's film is more an existentialist punch to the gut. "Point Blank" substitutes general murkiness for substance, though to be fair Walker lacks any real substance possibly by design, yet Lee Marvin packs in a lot of two-fisted excitement in the role and John Boorman's direction is most assured. Not my favorite modern noir but it is one of the best.

Shut up and play ball!

THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY (1950)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Jackie Robinson playing Jackie Robinson! It is so Joe, and that is one of the many strengths of "The Jackie Robinson Story," a Hollywood biography that glosses over many aspects of Jackie's life yet retains the public abuse and scandal of being the first black man to play baseball.

The narrator states that the Jackie Robinson Story could only happen in a country which is truly free. This is true but it doesn't mean Jackie didn't have to jump over many obstacles to get to his legendary status. He plays many sports at UCLA, including track and field and football, but he is worried that once he graduates college, nobody will hire him as a coach. This is due to his brother Mack (Joel Fluellen), who was a superb athlete and college graduate but ended up as nothing more than a street cleaner. Jackie's girlfriend and fiancee Rae (Ruby Dee) encourages him but Jackie feels that after one rejection letter after another, he'll never amount to anything.

After his Army stint which is only briefly alluded to, Jackie plays baseball for the Black Panthers (a fictional team - the actual team was the Kansas City Monarchs) in the Negro Leagues. However, his batting average and pitching stirs up interest from the Brooklyn Dodgers. This is where the sprightly Branch Rickey (Minor Watson), the manager of the Dodgers, hires Jackie with one major stipulation - don't let the racism from the white folks get him down. No reaction, no confrontation - just play ball.

Jackie Robinson is very low-key as himself, and possibly on purpose to illustrate the demands by Rickey to play it cool and calm and never engage in a fight with white people's racist insults. However, in his very few scenes with the delightful Ruby Dee, he is still somewhat stoic and inexpressive. The baseball scenes is where he really comes alive, though the sequences themselves are ill-conceived in terms of framing and composition (sometimes we can only guess that Jackie hits a ball because he swings his bat and we hear the sound of a ball being hit, except for one low-angle shot from the point-of-view of the catcher).

Despite some shortcomings in the visuals and in Jackie himself, "The Jackie Robinson Story" is an enjoyable and rousing picture that runs a bracing 76 minutes. Minor Watson steals the shows as the colorful old codger Rickey, and one can't help but root for Jackie and Rickey as well, both defying all odds in a racially charged climate. The fact that this movie even got made in 1950 is something of a miracle.

The Year is One

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If schlocky horror director William Castle ("House on Haunted Hill") had directed Ira Levin's bestseller "Rosemary's Baby," it would have had minor shock effects and some scare tactics. It might even have included a hovering demon baby and black carriage in the theater! Such is the style of Castle (who appears briefly in a phone booth scene) and the difference is lucidly demonstrated in Roman Polanski's adaptation and direction of this chilling, slow-paced horror film - a distinguished classic in a genre that has been cheapened in the ensuing years by gore and more schlock.

"Rosemary's Baby" begins in New York City where a couple, Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse (respectively played by the late John Cassevettes and Mia Farrow) rent a high-rise apartment at the Dakota. They are introduced to their new home by the superintendent (wonderfully played by Elisha Cook, Jr.). Things go wrong from the get-go. There is a dresser obscuring a closet, voices and chants are heard, various shadows are seen on walls, a young woman is found dead in the street, and so on. The dead woman, a runaway, had lived with the next-door neighbors, the Castavetts, who adopted her. The Woodhouse couple meet the next-door neighbors for dinner as a sign of respect, an affable old couple who dress in loud outfits, Roman and Minnie Castavett (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon). They are talkative, nosy people and have conflicting opinions about Catholicism and the Pope. As they talk over dinner, the wise Roman curiously remembers Guy's supporting role in the play "Luther": 'I was struck by a gesture you made. It had a wonderful sense of authenticity'. Roman also seems to have been a former businessman who has travelled all around the world. Minnie is simply nosy, and almost every time she appears, Beethoven's "Fur Elise" is playing in some tenant's piano.

While the film progresses, there is a growing feeling of something unnatural about to take place. Rosemary undergoes physical and emotional changes in her character, from cropping her hair in a "Vidal Sassoon" style to getting pregnant. Her pregnancy is handled by two different doctors: one is Dr. Hill (Charles Grodin), a "Charlie nobody" as Guy calls him, and there is the renown Dr. Saperstein (Ralph Bellamy) who prescribes herbal drinks and tanis root for Rosemary. Meanwhile, Rosemary's husband Guy grows distant while successfully landing numerous acting jobs, though he occasionally brings her flowers as a sign of love. Her good family friend, Hutch (Maurice Evans), discovers that her neighbors are in fact part of a coven of witches. That could explain the scratches on Rosemary's back and some of her weird dreams where she is raped by Satan! Slowly, Rosemary begins to believe that the Castavetts are after her unborn baby.

Polanski places a great deal of ambiguity in "Rosemary's Baby" making us feel as though Rosemary is simply paranoid and is imagining that there is a conspiracy, and that her husband is one of the conspirators. There is a sense of unease and unseen menace in the film thanks to Roman's claustrophobic direction and cinematographer William Fraker's disorienting compositions (my favorite being the hallway shot of Minnie making a phone call to Dr. Saperstein, showing that she is partially obscured by the entrance door to the bedroom so that we never see her face). Throughout the film, we are never sure if the supposed coven of witches mean well or if they intend to do harm - could they care a little too much about Rosemary? Is Guy's stoic demeanor a sign that something is wrong? Could Hutch's suspicious be erroneous? Or is Rosemary going crazy a la Catherine Deneuve's similar state of paranoia in Polanski's nightmarish "Repulsion"?

"Rosemary's Baby" was reviled by Catholic groups back in 1968, condemned for its view of Satanism (maybe the shot of the Time magazine cover with the "God is Dead" title did not help). Otherwise, it was critically well-received and placed Roman on the star director map leading to many more Hollywood offers. After more than forty years, "Rosemary's Baby" still retains its implicit power of genuine forces of evil unseen by Rosemary's eye, including the famous final sequence which still rattles the nerves. For its unnerving sense of doom and menace coupled with sharp doses of black humor, you can do no better than this baby. This is Polanski at his devilish best.

Harryhausen's Meditteranean Monster

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I've been a fan of Ray Harryhausen since I was a kid, especially the sights of stop-motion animation in everything from "Jason and the Argonauts" and its dueling skeletons, to the rampaging dinosaur in "Valley of the Gwangi" to all those mythological creatures come to life in "Clash of the Titans." So I approached and received the same wild-eyed pop enthusiasm from "20 Million Miles to Earth" as I had from Harryhausen's previous work. It is a terrific ride of a movie

The opening scenes of this movie have an EC comics feel. A Sicilian kid named Pepe (Bart Braverman, "Match Game" fans rejoice) helps his father rescue a couple of astronauts inside a crash-landed spaceship, which had just made a trip to Venus and was on its return voyage back to Earth. While on shore and nursing them back to health, Pepe finds a cylinder that he decides to open and touches some jelly-like substance in it. It turns out to be an alien creature's fetus (known as the Ymir, the film's original title) that proportionally grows in size and strength. Need I say more?

The last surviving member of the Venus trip is Col. Robert Calder, who is seemingly stoically played by William Hopper. I say seemingly because the screenplay does occasionally allow him to be animated and humorous. One particular example is when Calder tries to woo a scientist's daughter (Joan Taylor) with thoughts of a nice dinner and wine. How sweet! But who has time for lovemaking when Calder and the U.S. and Sicilian goverments have to trap this destructive creature. Sulfur might help! Dogs and elephants might not!

"20 Million Miles to Earth" could've been the cheesiest and silliest monster movie ever. However, it has a charm and an innocence that resonates with its peculiar aspect of adding a monster to the most romantic environment in the Meditteranean Sea. That and peppering the movie with the scene-stealing tyke Bart Braverman, who only wants a few hundred lira and a cowboy hat from Texas for his scientific discovery, adds some excitement for kids who probably wish they would've found a cylinder like the one he finds (but a warning label should've been attached to it). The monster is believable enough and causes enough destruction to almost ape King Kong's own methods (he even battles an elephant in a scene that could have yielded laughs but its primitiveness makes it more thrilling).

So with astounding direction by the late Nathan H. Juran (an accomplished fantasy and science-fiction director known for "Attack of the 50 ft. Woman") and bravura touches of humanity and humor in equal doses by William Hopper and Bart Braverman, "20 Million Miles to Earth" is pretty damn exciting and thrilling enough for anyone who is a fan of monster movies and Ray Harryhausen.