Gun Crazy (1950) [aka Deadly is the Female]

Annie Laurie Starr:  Let's go for a walk on the beach.
Bart:  I just read an article about funerals.

Whilst it’s not a Genre as such, I have really been enjoying Noir films lately.  The quick, witty and sometime odd dialogue along with the style of filming is really appealing, or at least a nice change from the films of today where special effects/CGI is often more important than acting or storyline.  Films that fit the “Noir” flavour were mostly made during the 40’s and 50’s and some attempts have been made to make them in latter days (such as The Long Goodbye, Blade Runner, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential) with more modern themes but trying to retain that Film Noir feel minus the Black & White (apart from the Coen brother’s The Man Who Wasn’t There from 2002).  Anyway, in some of my browsing I stumbled across this older film called “Gun Crazy” which from the title sounds like a silly movie but it did inspire a remake with Drew Barrymore in the 90’s (I haven’t seen that one) so I thought ‘surely it can’t be all that bad’.  There is also a book specifically written about the movie and the behind the scenes stuff which adds to thought that it must be reasonably good to warrant a book about its making.  Sure it has good reviews but sometimes you can’t always rely on that (the recent movies Snowpiercer and Lucy are proof of that….for me anyway!).  

Without giving the story away, the film is about two crack-shot shooters who end up falling in love.   Annie (Peggy Cummins) convinces Bart (John Dall) that they should go on a robbing spree across the country (hence the alternate title – Deadly is the Female).  They take it a bit too far and one person ends up getting killed during one of the robberies and the police then conduct a major hunt for the pair.

It’s similar in a way to the 1967 release of Bonnie and Clyde but about 17 years older.  When it came out it didn’t gain much attention however over time it has become a highly respected classic, and rightfully so.  The chemistry between the two lead roles is fantastic and natural and this reveals itself when you find out that the Bank robbery that takes place (we only see outside the bank) was done in one take where they drive to the scene, improvised their lines, do the robbery and getaway.   The film is brilliantly filmed to keep up the suspense of the chase and I recall one scene where Annie is driving the car in a getaway and is being told by Bart to go faster and you can almost feel her frustration when she can’t get it to go any faster.  The final scene is also simply brilliant with its use of fog and natural surroundings (sorry, no spoilers here!).  The two lead roles do all their own driving in the film (except one scene) which also adds to its authentic feel.

This was initially a B movie with a style of shooting that was new for its day (in particular the robbery scene) which gave the movie a fresh feel and look.  As with many of the “B” movies, the directors had more freedom to experiment with new techniques and they often had to cut down on expensive lighting which also paved the way for the Film Noir we know today with its shadowy look.

The Bluray reviewed here was imported from Spain via www.amazon.com.   The image quality is generally very good, clean and sharp whilst retaining the nice film grain.  What I did notice (I checked on three different players) was that the video image was not completely smooth.  The image would be smooth than jump/skip a frame or two without affecting the sound.  As this is a made on demand (MOD) Bluray as opposed to a pressed disc (like every other bluray available here) I would assume there is a slight issue with the encoding.  The Spanish edition of the Bluray uses  a DTS HD Logo on the rear of the cover however its only Dolby Digital 2 channel at a very slim 192kbps in English and Spanish.  It is an authentic release and is still available at a price which is much much lower than the Warner Bros DVD (see below).  Those points aside the Bluray looks brilliant but there are no extra’s on the Bluray.

The Warner DVD (cover on the left above) is also available however only in the fantastic 5 film boxset “Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 1” (cover shown above on the right).  The boxset has since sold out and is only available second hand, however the DVD in question has a great transfer fo the film though naturally not as sharp but has no encoding issue.  The DVD also has an audio commentary by film noir specialist Glenn Erickson which is a great bonus.

This film comes very highly recommended particularly if you’re interested in Noir film or simply movies from that era.  Either way this is a film that’s certainly worth seeing, it’s just a shame that it doesn’t have a wider release on DVD/Bluray.  The Bluray disc has only been rated 2.5 out of 5 due to no extras and the skipping issue, but the movie and image quality (minus what appears to be an encoding issue) gets 5 out of 5.

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Mars Attacks (1996)

[Watching an alien on TV]
First Lady: [after seeing the Martians for the first time] I'm not allowing that thing in my house.
President Dale: Sweetie, we may have to. The people expect me to meet with them.
First Lady: Well they're not going to eat off the Van Buren china.

The 50’s gave us the real introduction to sci-fi films containing aliens and space travel and being a new genre they were granted B status and therefore (just like film noir) had low budgets and often poor visual effects but some of them grew to cult status and have a high rating even today.  Films such as It came from Outer Space (1953), Invaders from Mars (1953), The War of the Worlds (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956) all deal with alien invasion of some sort and Mars Attacks! is a spoof and homage of them all, perhaps Earth vs the Flying Saucers in particular.

Tim Burton, who directed the film, initially wanted stop animation for the aliens but was eventually convinced on CGI courtesy of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic).  The aliens in the film look like a modernised version of those from Invasion of the Saucermen (1957) and the saucers look and act like the ones from Earth vs the Flying Saucers.  

The film has a host of big names being Jack Nicholson (playing two roles, the President James Dale and Art Land), Glenn Close (First Lady Marsha Dale), Annette Bening, Pierce Bronson, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Natalie Portman and Jack Black.  

Without ruining the experience for anyone, the movie is basically about aliens coming to earth with the intention to take possession.  They like what they see and they want it!  The United States welcomes them, thinking that because of their big brains, they must be peaceful but it becomes clear that it is not their intention.  The movies from the 50’s were quite serious in nature but I assure you this is NOT the case with Mars Attacks! as can be seen by…well almost everything in and about the movie.  How the aliens talk, the machinery used by the military (uniforms and vehicles are 50’s style), what the character’s say, how they say it etc just screams an odd yet memorable comedy.  The opening scene in the movie will have you laughing and the way the humans defeat the aliens is downright funny as well.  Sadly, all this does not guarantee a great movie but it is entertaining and you will likely never watch a 50’s sci-fi again without having a flashback of this film with a giggle.  It has its ups and downs but if you go in with no expectation and just laze back to enjoy the show, you will enjoy it.  

The Bluray reviewed was imported from the UK and has a great image in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio with quite a powerful DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 sound.  You can get the DVD from Australia (there is no Bluray in Australia) but it would have cost me about the same price but with a drop in image quality.  There are no extras on the Bluray.  This really begs to have a special edition with a great doco on 50’s sci-fi and how they made this film as a homage and spoof.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie as a 50’s sci-fi spoof and alien invasion comedy.  There are some really funny scenes that just shows the film makers just wanted to have a blast making it.  As long as you don’t expect a deep quality story, it will give you more than a few laughs.   Personally, I’m glad I bought it because it just goes along with the 50’s sci-fi that I enjoy but with a comic angle.  But I would recommend hiring it out first to see if you like before spending the $$.

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Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965)

Lord Rawnsley: Well, I expect you know what I want to talk to you about.
Richard Mays: Oh, yes, sir, the race, of course.
Lord Rawnsley: No, no, not the race - Patricia.  She's getting rather keen on you.
Richard Mays: Oh.
Lord Rawnsley: Well, are you intending to propose to her?
Richard Mays: Well, with your permission, sir.
Lord Rawnsley: My dear fellow, you can take that for granted.  Your father was at school with me.
Richard Mays: There's just one snag, sir.
Lord Rawnsley: Oh?
Richard Mays: It's finding the time for married life.
Lord Rawnsley: What do you mean?
Richard Mays: Well, I'm soldiering all day, and I'm rather busy in the evenings too.  Monday I dine in. Tuesday's card night at White's. Wednesday I play snook with the adjutant. Thursday, uh, well, we like to end up at Romano's. Uh, that only leaves Friday.
Lord Rawnsley: Yes, but what about the weekends?
Richard Mays: Well, that's flying, sir.  It's the only time I've got. But I could give up my card night if you like, sir.
Lord Rawnsley: Oh, I don't think that's necessary. We don't want to spoil the girl.  You do love don't you?
Richard Mays: Oh, I do, sir. Very much.
Lord Rawnsley: I thought you did.  Well, glad to have had this little talk.  Nice to know you're serious. So few young people are these days.

Sorry for the long quote, but it’s just one of the priceless lines within the film that came to mind when putting this review together.

It's hard to imagine some films being remade these days.  There have been some attempts and on that thought we have a remake of the 60's big hit epic Ben Hur coming out soon which will no doubt please some and frustrate others.  Today's film in review is one that would be very unlikely to be remade firstly due to the wonderful actors and characters portrayed, and secondly it would no doubt be a very expensive film due to the construction of early 20th century aircraft.  Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines brings us early 20th century aircraft that were accurately remade (apart from more reliable and slight more powerful engines) for use in the film which is a delight to see and we have fantastic actors all combined in a great comedy.  

The film starts off with a combination of new and original footage of man's attempt to fly starting from the stone age, progressing through to a variety of man-made inventions that were designed to take man to the sky with some being hilarious.  The film then begins in 1910, which is about 7 years after man's first flight, where keen aviator Richard Mays (James Fox) and soon to be fiancée Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles) concoct a plan to bring the ideas and knowledge of aviation to one place where they can all learn from each other.  The idea of an air race from London to Paris is then brought to Sarah's father, British Newspaper Tycoon Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley), and is convinced that this would be the best way for Britain to maintain it's rule in the world which currently rules the sea but not the skies.  Lord Rawnsley then advertises the race in his paper and those around the world with a prize of 10,000 pounds.

Entrants from around the world such as France, Italy, Germany, America and England and Scotland begin to arrive in London as they prepare their planes for the race, but then the real fun begins as there are tensions between the nations, in particular France and Germany, and if that was not enough English aviator Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) tries to sabotage some of the planes in order to score the win himself.

The film has great cast as per above and also includes Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as the officer in charge of the German team and a cameo from Benny Hill as the fire chief who is very concerned about his fire engines.  The script is very well crafted and the film is well directed as are the stunts, but one of the many great parts of the film (apart from the stars, acting and script) are the planes where about 20 of them were built for the movie from the same authentic materials, and seeing these fly is just fantastic!

It really is hilarious to see the conflict between the different nations, like the carefree Americans, the by-the-book Germans, prim and proper English, the fun loving French who love having a rip at the Germans, then there are the proud Italians who refuse to have their practice runs behind the French.  

In many ways, the film reminds me of The Great Race (1965) which is another wonderful film of this era but instead of planes, it revolves around cars, and to a lesser degree It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).  Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines also had a type of sequel called Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969) or perhaps it might be known from its British title Monte Carlo or Bust! which is quite a good film but not as classy and polished as Magnificent Men.

The Bluray reviewed here is only available from the US and is in fact now out of print, though you can get a copy from some places like eBay that will likely charge you an arm and three toes.  There is also a DVD available in Australia that you can pick up off eBay for a reasonable price.

The image quality on the Bluray is fantastic and a far cry above the old DVD version I had (the cover was somewhat different than the above).  The restoration work done for this film is stunning to say the least and delivers a very clear, detailed and bold image whilst still retaining that film look.  There are some parts of the film that suffer a little because of the pristine restoration and that is during some scenes where they use blue screen effects which is similar to The Great Race and other films of that vintage.  I do not own many “Twilight Time” films simply because of their expense when converting the US dollar, but this (along with The Train) was worth it.  The sound also saw a full restoration and is similarly wonderful, bringing out the score perfectly.  The following extras have also been included:

• Isolated score track (just contains the music)
• Audio Commentary by Director/Writer Ken Annakin
• Trailers and TV Spots

Overall this is a wonderful movie that has its moments of being hilarious to mildly funny.  The acting is spot on as they portray their characters and the planes, setting and script are also wonderful.  This is a film which just could not be made the same these days and it comes highly recommended.  For a reasonable price you can get the DVD or even stream via your favourite paid streaming service.

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