Movie Review: Film Noir Collection D.O.A.

The plot in this movie is too complex for my taste. One reviewer compares it to The Big Sleep and is right on the money. But Edmond O'Brien turns in a stellar performance as an ambivalent batchelor/accountant who is the target of a murder for a document he notarized years ago which might expose the shenanigans of a criminal organization peddling stolen property. The film employs a flashback format to explain the intricacies of too many characters with too many motives. But O'Brien's character is embelmatic of a personality type of the era, 1946, who would be looked upon as a thug today: the independent tough guy. He walks into an office and literally strong arms a secretary into revealing information to him. His rough attitude towards woman comes off as necessary and socially accpetable. Today, such conduct would make him a social pariah. The ending scene is quite a hoot. A San Francisco detective, after hearing the whole story and watching O'Brien drop dead on the floor, asks how to classify the case. His supervisor, in a tone about as full of emotion as ordering a cup of coffee, tells him to label it "dead on arrival." All in all, a fun movie to watch. And I have to wonder, why do Hollywood lowlifes of the 1940's and 50's all wear custom made suits?

Movie Review: Sweet Smell of Success

This movie suffers from an unreal premise: some big shot gossip columnist is so protective of his younger sister that he will do anything to prevent her from dating a seemingly honest and straight up jazz musician. Tony Curtis plays the sycophant yes man to Burt Lancaster's portrayal of Walter Winchell. Curtis and Lancaster play mind games with each other as they traverse the slimy underbelly of New York showbiz nightlife to ensnare the would be boyfriend so that he is damaged goods. Alas, it does not work and they are both exposed for the frauds that they are. The acting is first class as it should be with Curtis and Lancaster. But the plot is so far fetched that it takes everything else down with it. Maybe it was different back then but the spectre of a newspaper columnist having the power to make and break people as he dines nightly at a fancy nightclub while politicians fawn over him is laughable. If you watch this film, do so for the acting; at least you will not be disappointed.

Movie Review: Gangs of New York

This was not a good movie. And here's why. 1. The Plot. From the first five minutes, it is clear that there will be a final confrontation between Daniel Day Lewis and Di Caprio. But there is no development other than a constant stream of images of civil war era New York, all of them untrue. 2. Historical accuracy. Even the best timepiece movies contain fiction but this is absurd. The sub title to this movie should be "Where Are The Cops." We have the opening scene carnage in which hundred of men are involved in a fight with knives, hammers, and meat cleavers. There are no police and no bystanders to stop or witness this slaughter. The scene is implausible. Next, there is arson sanctioned by the rogue fire department wherein buildings are torched in the middle of the city while looters walk into burning cauldrons. But the award for sheer incredulity goes to the scene where Daniel Day Lewis is shot in a public theater in front on thousands. His assailant is killed. Yet no police. And speaking of police, Di Caprio murders one at night and we next see the dead officer's body hanging in a public square in broad daylight while Boss Tweed's stands by helpless. the whole spectacle is laughable for its lack of realism. Lastly, the final scene which pits two gangs in a life or death struggle within 100 feet of one another. One of the gangs is assaulted by cannon fire from a ship in the harbor which must be a few miles away. The whole notion of the Union Army intervening in a gang dispute is crazy. But what made me laugh was that cannons were never accurate enough to hit their targets within 100 feet from a few miles offshore. The entire movie is filled with historical blunders. I am an admirer of Martin Scorsese but this film is bad.