Spartacus (1960)

Ho-hum.

Director Stanley Kubrick's fifth feature film won four Academy Awards, including best supporting actor for Peter Ustinov, but this 1960 epic didn't dazzle this movie-goer.

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is a slave in Rome. After working for the Romans on a mountainside, he is purchased and sent to gladiator school. There, he falls for Varinia (Jean Simmons), a sex slave for the gladiator hopefuls.

Spartacus' rebellious streak - he knawed on a Roman guard's leg while carrying rock - rises up again. He leads a rebellion of gladiators. The pushback against Rome picks up speed. Other slaves join the gladiators. Their goal is to reach the ocean and sail back home.

The Roman senate, not keen to see slaves succeed in their freedom quest, seek to stomp out Spartacus and the other rebels.

What's most interesting about this film is Ustinov's role as Batiatus, who purchases slaves. Batiatus is a coward and opportunist. He easily spots chances to make money and make sure when trouble comes up, he's nowhere to be found. Batiatus kisses a lot of backsides to get his way. Nice job, Peter Ustinov!

Spartacus isn't too subtle in contrasting the slave leader's bid for freedom and efforts by his Roman counterpart Crassus (Laurence Olivier) to curtail freedom of Romans as part of his plans to be Roman leader.

The romance between Spartacus and Varinia shows promise when both are captives, but gets bogged down in standard lovey-dovey scenes once they're free.

For a movie about two opposing forces, there's not a lot of time spent fighting in this film. What is interesting is how Kubrick handles large crowd scenes, especially as Roman solders fill a field in preparation for a final showdown with Spartacus and company.

RATING: 6/10

FUN FACTS: Jean Simmons was in Guys and Dolls. She was also a harpist in Caesar and Cleopatra.

Kirk Douglas will celebrate his 100th birthday in 2016.

John Gavin, who appears as Julius Caesar, was Sam Loomis in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Spartacus was Charles Laughton's second last feature film.

Red River (1948)

It's great to take another dip in the Red River (1948) after nearly 30 years.

This fine western by Howard Hawks was part of my first-year film class at Brock University. Several westerns, including Stagecoach, were screened.

There's at least two iconic scenes in this 1948 effort new audiences might have seen in movie books or compilations of western scenes. Sidekick Walter Brennan throws a knife to John Wayne while he fights another man in the water. The second is a montage of cowboys yelling out to start a massive cattle drive.

Thomas Dunson (Wayne) found his piece of heaven in Texas in 1851. He and Nadine Groot (Brennan) break away from a wagon train and head for ideal land for a cattle ranch. His goal is to offer "good beef for hungry people."

The decision comes with a heavy price. The wagon train is attacked by Indians just hours after Dunson's departure. His girl, who he didn't want to join him, dies.

Matt Garth (Montgomery Cliff) survives the attack. Dunson adopts him. Both men prove quick to draw their guns. While Dunson is cold when it comes to killing, Garth takes a kinder approach to who he'll dispatch. That distinction stirs up some friction between father and adopted son, with Dunson accusing him of being soft.

Dunson builds up his beef empire, but times are tough in the American south in 1865. He has lots of cattle, but no market. Dunson decides to launch a massive drive of 10,000 cattle to Missouri. The stakes are high. Attacks by raiders and Indians are likely.

Dunson drives the men hard. Where Garth sees chances to ease off and given the crew rest, Dunson demands more continued action. Morale nosedives. Defections start. There's a suggestion that Dunson's mental health may be impacted as he ignores sleep and keeps focused on his goal. "I don't like quitters," he says. The relationship between father and son strains, leaving Dunson determined go get revenge.

There's lots to like in Red River. The cast, with supporting characters such as John Ireland, Harry Carey, Jr., and his dad, Harry Carey, is very fine.

Clift is impressive in his film debut.

Joanne Dru shines as the feisty Tess Millay, who loves Garth and tries to talk sense into Dunson. But the first meeting of the sweethearts, during an Indian attack on a wagon train, seems awfully unbelievable. These two young kids are making eyes at each other while bullets and arrows are flying. That really seems unlikely.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Red River (1948) earned Oscar nods for best writing and editing.

That's Mickey Kuhn as a young Matt. Born in 1932, he's still alive as of this writing. His acting resume isn't long - 32 credits on Internet Movie Database. But his credits include A Streetcar Named Desire and Gone with the Wind!

Chief Yowlachie offers comic relief as Walter Brennan's sidekick, Quo. Yowlachie was King of the Rock People in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.

Noah Beery, Jr., appearing here as cowboy Buster McGee, played James Garner's father on television's The Rockford Files.

Red River was Joanne Dru's second film credit.

Railroaded (1947)

Ward Cleaver, I never knew you.


This movie buff was born after Leave It to Beaver aired. Actually, I've never seen any of the 234 episodes of the family comedy that ran on television between 1957 and 1963.


WARD, IS THAT YOU?

A decade before Hugh Beaumont appeared in that beloved series, he made this film directed by Anthony Mann (The Glenn Miller Story, Winchester '73).


Railroaded has its moments, including several very fine performances. Beaumont is not one of the reasons why I'd recommend this film.


But, John Ireland is solid as bad guy Duke Martin. He's the best thing in this 76-minute black and white effort.


Duke and his girl, beautician Clara Calhoun (Jane Randolph), scheme to rip off a gambling operation in the back of Calhoun's salon. What appears to be a straightforward heist goes awry when Calhoun's co-worker, Marie Weston (Peggy Converse), screams and alerts police. She's not aware of Duke and Clara's scheme. Her version of events doesn't line up with her co-worker's. Will police believe her or think her memory is blurred by trauma from the robbery?


THE WRONG MAN


An officer walking the beat is killed, but not before plugging henchman Cowie Kowalski (Keefe Brasselle). Cowie fingers innocent Steve Ryan (Ed Kelly) as his accomplice before he dies. Kowalski had a thing for Ryan's sister, see, and Steve told him to buzz off. This is a chance for Kowalski to even the score -- for good.


Steve's supposed involvement brings Ferguson to the Ryan household. What a coincidence. The investigator used to live in the neighbourhood. Golly, he has been away from the 'hood for so long he didn't know that Rosie has matured into quite the fine-looking young lady.


DEAD OR ALIVE?

The two are at odds. Ferguson wants to put Steve in the slammer. His boss, Capt. McTaggart (Charles Brown) is more direct. "Only the gas chamber will satisfy me." Meanwhile, Rose wants to clear her brother.


"Facts. That's what I'm interested in," he tells Rosie.
"Feelings don't count in my racket."


Meanwhile, Duke keeps killing just about everyone who is somehow tied to the caper. Clara's fondness for the bottle grows as she is tormented by the death of the police officer and Kowalski. Duke casts an eye on Rose, but it's not exactly romance that's on his mind.


PUT OUT THE FIRE, NOT

Beaumont and Ryan have next-to-no-chemistry. This film fan was stunned when they kissed. Really? The script called for it, but there's no believable romance going on with those two.


But, hey, where else can you see a cat fight between Randolph and Ryan?

When was the last time you saw a jail guard check a cake for a hidden handgun?

Savour some classic lines including, "Go peddle your troubles to the fire department," and "Can't you talk without asking questions?" Ireland gets the best line in the film when he tells a piano player, "You with the fingers, go home."


So many of this film's cast did better work elsewhere. It's neat to see them in a movie that just doensn't quite gel.

Ireland earned a best supporting Oscar nomination for All the King's Men a couple of years later. Jane Randolph was in Cat People. She only appeared in 21 films between 1941 and 1955. She died in Switzerland in 2009. What's her story?

Railroaded was Ed Kelly's film debut. What happened to him? He appeared in another film in 1950 then disappeared for 20 years. He returned in the rated X comedy, Miss Nymphet's Zap-In, directed by the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis. Why?


Charles Brown appeared in some of Hollywood's best films of that era, The Big Sleep, Notorious and The Grapes of Wrath. He's fine as the police boss who wants to find the killer of one of his men.


How many actors can say they appeared in government films warning the troops about sexually transmitted diseases? Well, Keefe Brasselle played Chicken in USS VD: Ship of Shame.


There are so many great stories here. Too bad Railroaded isn't one of them.


RATING: 6/10

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Victor Mature's take on Doc Holliday is the perfect prescription for western movie fans.

Henry Fonda gets top billing in John Ford's 1946 western, but Mature is a real treat to watch as the former doctor who now sends people to the graveyard instead of restoring their health.

MATURE'S DOC A STANDOUT

The town of Tombstone is the perfect place for the Shakespeare-quoting killer with a taste for champagne and lots of readin'.

Mature's Doc speaks softly and is tormented by who he used to be and who he has become.

The four Earp brothers are herding cattle to California. When Wyatt (Fonda), Morgan (Ward Bond) and Virgil (Tim Holt) ride into Tombstone, youngest brother James (Don Garner) is killed by cattle rustlers.

LISTEN TO PA, OR ELSE

Wyatt, ex-marshall of Dodge City, decides to enforce the law in Tombstone. Old Man Clanton (a great Walter Brennan) and his boys stand out as the likely culprits. The ominous music when pops and one of his boys appear on camera the first time is a pretty good hint these aren't peace-lovin' folks.

But give Brennan top marks in his secondary role as one mean, cruel father. Here's a guy who whips his sons when they mess up. "When you pull a gun, kill a man," is one of the practical pieces of advice he offers his offspring.

Holliday and Earp aren't chummy buddies at first, but a respect does grow between the two men. The now bad doctor, who is keeping time with saloon girl Chihuahua (Linda Darnell), confronts his past when old flame Clementine Carter (Cathy Downs) ends up in Tombstone after a long search for her much-loved beau.

FORD'S GREATEST WESTERN?

Veteran movie critic Roger Ebert hails My Darling Clementine as director John Ford's greatest western. Those are high words of praise for the American filmmaker whose resume also includes The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Rio Grande.

Besides several great performances, there is plenty of humour in this film ranging from slapstick to clever word play. The scenery is beautiful and the composition of some of Ford's shots in this black-and-white film is inspired.

The DVD I watched included an interesting 42-minute documentary about the preview print screened compared to the final version released to theatres. Learn why producer Darryl F. Zanuck wasn't entirely happy with Ford's cut of My Darling Clementine.

Rating: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Mature appeared in the 1976 film, Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood. Linda Darnell was Hollywood's youngest leading lady when, at 16, she appeared in Hotel for Women in 1939. Her next fact isn't fun, but sad. Darnell died in a house fire in 1965. She was 41. Darnell was watching Star Dust, a film she made in 1940, at the time. Cathy Downs moved from westerns to science-fiction/horror films with credits in Missile to the Moon and The She-Creature in the 1950s.

My Darling Clementine (1946, 97 minutes). Cast includes Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature, Cathy Downs, Walter Brennan, Tim Holt, Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, John Ireland, Roy Roberts, Jane Darwell and Grant Withers.