Review of International House (1933)

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I've always liked movies where lots of unassociated stuff happens. Movies like this, which are little more than showcases for popular acts of the time they were made, are among my favorites. ("Stormy Weather" is another good example.)

You won't find a better example of this than "International House." The plot, such as it is, involves a Chinese guy who has invented something called a "radio scope" which, even though they didn't know it at the time, basically predicted the concept of satellite television. All kinds of bidders are flying to China from all over the world to bid on the contraption, including an Eastern Eurpopean Millionaire (Bela Lugosi, in one of his few non-horror roles; he's actually pretty good here), an American Ingenue with a capital "I" (Peggy Hopkins Joyce, who apparently really WAS an American ingenue) and other sorts. Tossed into the mix is of course WC Fields, who manages to land a bizarre flying contraption in the lobby of the hotel (you need to see this at least once before you die. It's pretty funny)!

The acts on TV (and in the hotel, in the case of Burns and Allen) are really what the movie is all about. Cab Calloway's "Reefer Man" is a stand out, as is Rose Marie, all of about eight years old at the time singing a song that Sophie Tucker might have sung, given the chance.

Fields is simply excellent here, as is his perennial movie nemesis, Franklin Pangborn (as the head clerk at the hotel desk--but why is this guy running a hotel in CHINA?)

This is definitely a film you can watch many times, either all the way through or just for the parts you like best. Recommended!

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Perhaps one of the most surreal and special experiences in Hollywood filmmaking. The musical numbers are a hoot -especially the chorus made up of dancers dressed in art deco celophane outfits and Cab Calloway's manic rendition of "Reefer Man" (not to mention a pre-adolescent and disturbingly sexy Baby Rose Marie performing a hot torch number). The jokes are a treat -you'll find yourself saying, "I can't believe they got away with this!" when you hear some of the lines from WC Fields as well as Burns and Allen (it was pre-code, by the way).

In the end, you're amazed at the strange, dream-like quality of the film. Something akin to Busby Berkley meets a Dali painting.

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With regard to the review of Nov 19 2001, it sounds like the reviewer obtained an incomplete copy of the film. My VHS has the scenes he states were deleted on his copy, and the video quality is great on mine! I wonder if he obtained a 'third party' video?

I've loved this film since I was a child and know almost all the lines by heart. It is still fun to watch every so often just to see everyone ham it up!

W.C. Fields was masterful in his role, having been done before alcohol took its toll on him. Peggy Hopkins Joyce, who was so well-known then and so little-known now, fills her role (and her gowns) with professional ease. Burns and Allen are a pleasure, as always, as the doctor and nurse at the hotel. This is a rare opportunity to see Bela Lugosi in a comedy part, and it makes me regret once more that he was so typecast as Dracula. Franklin Pangborn camps it up as usual as the hotel manager. Yes, there is a dated cultural ethnocentricity as one would expect with a film from this era, but nothing really offensive.

Not a bad moment in this film. If you receive a cassette with the scenes missing as reviewed below, return it. Get the whole movie, it's worth it!

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If you aren't the kind of person that likes comedy, then this film is not for you. You have to have a pulse and a funny bone to view this crazy side splitting 1933 comedy. I had never knew W.C Fields was so down to earth with his jokes. When Rudy Valee was singing a rather bizarre ballad, W.C. Fields made a rude remark about his singing. There's another scene in the movie where W.C. Fields drove his car down the outside stairs of the hotel. As crazy as it may seem, it was really funny. (Yoohoo!) This is the word you'll hear when Mr. Fields asks from his helicoptor "What city is this?" (PRICELESS!)

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One of the cinema's unheralded treasures, "International House" (1933) is a refreshingly bizarre musical-comedy that could only be made during the Depression era. Untouched by the Hays Office, the laughs come at a good clip with a once-in-a-lifetime cast: W.C. Fields, Burns and Allen, Stu Erwin, Bela Lugosi, Franklin Pangborn, Cab Calloway, Baby Rose Marie, and other names too numerous to mention. As Professor Quail, Fields does not make his grand entrance until the halfway mark, but dominates the proceedings with a nonstop stream of one-liners and alcoholic intake. A must-see!

Cheap The Book of Pooh - A Valentine for Eeyore (2001)

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It does not get any better then this video. I have all the Book Of Pooh series and this one is on top. My 18-month-old girl LOVES it! There are four 12 minute stories plus a Rolie Polie Olie story. All in all it is 1 full hour long! Since most children's videos are 30 minutes or less, it is nice to get one a full hour long. And she is entralled with the show for the entire hourThat's a lot to say for this tape with my highly active toddler! The stories are all fantastic. The first one is about Eyorre who gives everyone a special Valentine card and they try to give one back to Eyorre but make him gloomier. It is a wonderful story. The second story is about nothing. There is no story happening so Mr. Narrator makes one up. This is my childs favorite story by far. The third story in about the adventures of Don Poohotay as he seeks his honey. The forth story is about trying to find what Eyorre does best and finding out that he is pretty special after all. Then the Rolie Polie Olie short is about Peek-a-boo. Nothing funner then that for a toddler! I only wish these tapes were on DVD then it would be perfect.

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it was new cute and very good considering i haven't seen it in a while i love winnie the pooh

Buy Spiders (3D/2D Blu-Ray) (2013)

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Spiders. Creepy and crawly and one of my least favorite things. So when I saw this title I decided to give myself a shiver and rented it, even though there were no reviews posted. I hope others will read this review first and save themselves the pain and lost time that I suffered. Simply put, this movie is an abomination. Horrible acting, directing and writing. From soup to nuts this film is the worst piece of trash I've ever had the misfortune to have to sit through, and I DID sit through it (with judicious use of the FF). Do yourself a favor and find a less painful way to spend an hour and half. Like root canal.

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If you like and are entertained by B movie creature features.This movie delivers on suspense,acting,creature effects and action.For those of us who like the genre?It's good entertainment!So either rent or buy.Either way,break out the popcorn sit back and enjoy!

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It's a shame this movie had to have been released in theaters in this day and age. Had it come out in the 90's it would have been more well received, and typical of the creature features of the time: Lake Placid, Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, The Relic, etc. If it had premiered on SyFy it would be considered the greatest TV movie ever. Unfortunately, neither happened, so I can easily see why it let many people down. It's a creature feature stuck in limbo. It's too good for SyFy, but not good enough to play in today's theaters. The spider effects are quite good, while the occasional digital rat would have looked OK ten years ago.

The budget does not allow for the massive scale attack on the populace of New York that people were hoping for. Instead the city is evacuated before the spiders surface (at the climax) so it's just a handful of civilians and the military that are left. Judging it as a low budget typical creature feature it's great. As a theatrically released spiders-attack-New York movie from 2012 it's a major disappointment. I give it 4 stars because I like creature features, even SyFy originals, and it is better than any of the direct-to-video/made-for-TV movies I've seen. A direct-to-disc release would have turned it into a cult hit, instead of the flop it is now considered. Fans of this stuff should really give it a chance, but forget how recently it played in theaters.

One thing's for sure, no one should be disappointed with the blu-ray transfer. The video quality is on par with most Hollywood blockbusters.

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Was a real dud for 7.99... "Eight Legged Freaks" was 1000 times better. I want my money back for this one LOL.

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i expected horrible animation and a horrible plot as is the rule with giant creature movies.

the spiders looked real and the plot was not nearly as bad as expected.

Discount The Country Bears (2002)

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When I found out there was going to be a film based on the now defunct Disney attraction I was looking forward to it. After reading media reviews, however, I was certain this movie was going to be a certifiable dud. Which only proves you should never listen to the media critics.

The movie is about a young bear whose favourite band (something like a cross between the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead, but all bears)has been disbanded for 10 years, and their iconic hall (something like the grand ole opry) is going to be destroyed by an unscrupulous landlord. The movie doesn't have the typical non-stop slapstick comedy kids films seem to think are necessary (although the carwash scene definitely made me laugh). Most of the fun parts revolve around the cameos by Brian Setzer, Queen Latifah, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, etc and if you're a fan of country-rock and blues, you should like the film. The appeal should be there if you feel nostalgic about the old Disney country bear hall too. While young children might find the film slow, older kids and adults who recognize the value of getting back something lost and a good music soundtrack should appreciate the movie.

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"The Country Bears" is a good family film. It isn't the best movie Disney ever cranked out, but it will hold your attention for about an hour and a half. It follows the story of young Beary Barrington, a boy/bear unsure of his purpose in life. He doesn't fit in with his human family(or at least that's what he thinks), so he sets out for "Country Bear Hall," where he believes he'll fit in. When he gets there, the place is about to be leveled to the ground, so he decides to reunite the band for a benefit concert. What follows is a good, clean family film about friendship, family, and tons of musical cameos.

It has a solid cast of well-known and not-so-well known actors. Christopher Walken plays the sore loser turned destructive banker bent on destroying Country Bear Hall. Deidrich Bader and "Chill" Mitchell play two goofy state highway patrolmen. Haley Joel Osment provides the voice of "Beary." Steve Tobolowsky plays the fun father figure of this film.



The film has a good overall message, but some younger kids may be turned off by the pace. It does introduce the younger lot to musicians like Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Brian Setzer, and Don Was. It also has cameos by stars the youngsters will probably recognize like Wyclef Jean and Queen Latifah. I think that's what I like most about this film. It covers the Country Bear's "influence" across the board and manages to mix a number of musical genres into one. From hip-hop to rockabilly, it's all covered here. The Country Bear band has a Southern rock sound, with a little Eagles thrown in to boot.

For good family fun, I recommend this one.

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I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has young children. My 7 year old is just in love with this movie and knows all of the words to every song. Great characters, lots of music, and appearances by many famous stars are traits that make this a top movie to own. Disney did a great job on this one!!

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I watched this movie with my 4 year old granddaughter who

absolutely loved it. Beary, a little bear cub has been raised in a human household with a human brother who seems to be anything but loving towards Beary. The Country Bears are Beary's

idols and after feeling that he was not a part of his 'human' family he sets off to find his destiny and through his faith in them the Country Bears, who had dismantled as a group, are brought back together.

This was a really cute movie, had some great music and dancing in it and was very upbeat. Also had a splash of humor, nice touch! Great for the family to enjoy together!

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I thought that not only was this movie cute but, full of adventure and good music. The characters; Ted, Fred, Tennessee, Zeb, Henry, Big Al and of course Beary challenged the imaginations of young and old alike. It brought out the kid in all of us, and what adult don't need that once in awhile? This was a fun movie and I reccomend it to movie goers of all ages. Three cheers for The Country Bears!!!

Upside Down Reviews

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Imagine my surprise when this movie showed up this weekend out of nowhere, without any advance advertizing, on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati. I figured this wasn't going to play very long here so I went to see it right away.

"Upside Down" has a very intruiging premise: there are two worlds very close together but each with their own gravity. As the movie opens, we are informed of the basic three rules: 1. All matter is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not the other. 2. An object's weight can be offset by matter from the opposite world (inverse matter). 3. After some time in contact, matter in contact with inverse matter burns. Wow, get your head around that! As the movie opens, we see young/eventual teenagers Adam (played by Jim Sturgess) and Eden (played by Kirsten Dunst) find each other in striking distance from opposing sides of a high mountain. Adam pulls in Eden with a rope, and as Eden is hanging/resting upside down in a rock, they kiss (hello, Spiderman upside-down kiss replay, anyone?). Eventually they are found out and as Eden is trying to get back to her "Up" world, the rope is shot and she takes a bad tumble, causing amnesia. Fast forward 10 years, and by complete chance Adam (from the "Down" world) see that Eden is now working at TransWorld, the 'evil' company that controls everything. Adam is developing an "anti-gravity" matter that also serves as an "anti-aging" creme. That appeals to TransWorld and he gets hired. Adam is bent on finding Eden and reconnecting with her, even though she has no memory of him and her teenage romance with him. At this point we are not even half-way into the movie, but to tell you more would ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several commments: first and foremost, this movie is the most visual original movie that I have seen in a long, long time. It is slightly reminiscent of "Inception" in its visuals, but then does it one or two times better than that, just outstanding. I just couldn't stop marveling at how the images of the two "upside down" worlds were presented to us. That said, I thought that Sturgess was badly miscast as Adam. Even though he is in reality older than Dunst, he just looked like a boy next to her. On the other hand, Dunst just shines in this movie, continuing her strong streak in recent movies like Melancholia and Bachelorette. Kudos also for the nice soundtrack, scored by Mark Isham, a favorite of mine. The screening that I saw this at today here in Cincinnati was poorly attended (only 2 people besides myself), so if you get a chance to see this in the theatre, do not wait, or otherwise catch it on DVD. The plot lacks some emotional pull but the visuals will win you over.

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Just wanted to say that if you are a sci-fi fan and enjoy outstanding visuals, like me, you must see this.

They probably got the visuals concept from "Inception" but actually used them in the plot instead of just for show (not that I didn't like Inception I did).

For me and I guess I can say I've probably seen it all this is the most artistic outstandng visual movie I've seen in, say, the last 2 years or so.

It has got an interesting uplifting love story with a rather uncommon arc that might keep you guessing until the very end.

Get ready for something... different.

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Eschewing the physics of reality, this film weaves a wonderfully fascinating tale of two young people in love. An astrophysics tale of Romeo and Juliet as the star-crossed lovers separated by a complex Escher-esque world of haves and have-nots.

Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst portray Adam and Eden respectively.

Adam lives in the frigid, dirty, and dank oily world of Downbelow. While Eden's home is Uptop, a dreamlike existence of warm bright air and glittering palaces of light. Two planets who share every basic elemental aspect, but are divided by an unspoken social and fiscal chasm. But there are special places, natural features of great height, where the two worlds almost touch one another. A place like the Sage Mountains.

A chance encounter between a thoughtful young boy and a young girl searching for her lost dog, accidentally bumping into one another at their respective peaks, begins a desperate dance as two halves of the same soul find, then lose one another.

Like all children, they're born without hate in their hearts. Eden and Adam become friends. And as the years pass, become more than friends. Despite the monstrous illegality of their relationship, love blossoms in secret. Until one fateful day as the teen couple encounters a group of angry Downbelowers who attack the pair for their illicit romance. While helping Eden make her escape, Adam is shot. Losing his grip while attempting to lower her "up", the freefall drop ends with a sickening crunch. Striking solid stone as she crashes back onto her world, a widening pool of blood is the last image he has of her.

Ten years pass.

Now working as an electronics repairman with asides as an inventor, Adam unknowingly stands at the brink of a discovery that will revolutionize both worlds. Believing that his soulmate died on that fateful day, he goes through the motions of an infinitely empty existence. Until a pirated television program from Uptop catches his eye. It's her she's alive. And he will do anything to again be with his one true love. Anything. Even prostitute his incredible creation to the corporate slave masters of Uptop's largest corporation, Transworld, for that single solitary chance.

Finagling his way into and through Transworld he's stunned and horrified to discover Eden doesn't know him.

Nearly beyond words, he learns that the fall all those years ago caused blunt force amnesia; she has no memory of her childhood and teen years except when she sleeps and dreams.

Undaunted, Adam undertakes the ultimate risk.

The twin worlds' equivalent of a terrorist attack is to cross over without permission. A strictly forbidden act, permission is never ever granted. But he's going to cross over repeatedly. His only hope is to encourage her memories to return by consistent re-association. But a Downbelower noticeably, and literally, stands out (up) from the crowd. As Uptop's gravity slowly burns through his illicit Up-gravity weights, Adam has to manage and mask his increasingly uncomfortable state while his custom bodysuit tips at the verge of combustion. And in a world full of Up citizenry, desperately has to avoid drawing public scrutiny to the fact that he's threatening immolation with every passing moment.

Authorities from both sides are in hot pursuit, no pun intended, and closing in on the repetitious violator.

A very entertaining romance for a 21st century audience. And, uncommonly, a good fit for both men and women, as this film captures the emotional aspects of a chick flick while carefully balancing the taut scifi and adventure aspects of a guy movie.

There were a couple of very small weaknesses that prevents a full five stars, but this incredible visual feast is as strong a four as I can imagine.

Movie Note:

Despite the fact the two planets share an equal orbit, I thought it cleverly profound that Director Juan Solanas never shows Downbelow as "up" when viewing the two worlds in the context of right and wrong, or even good and evil.

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"What if love was stronger then gravity." Adam (Sturgess) and Eden (Dunst) have been friends since they were kids. They only thing that keeps them apart is gravity. The world they live in has two separate gravities and they live in two separate "worlds". After an accident leaves Adam thinking Eden is gone he moves on with his life. After seeing Eden on TV one day he decides to risk everything by finding her again. This is a movie that is very hard to explain without giving anything away. I have said that I'm tired of the same 5 movies being remade over and over again with nothing original coming out. This is one of the most original and visually stunning movies that I have ever seen. The only downside I have with this movie is that they seemed to spend more time on the effects then the actually story. While the story is really good it does seem to drag and repeat itself a few times but overall I would recommend this. Overall, worth seeing and one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen, very neat effects. I give it a B.

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There may be spoilers...

Not having read anything about this movie, the premise seemed interesting and I'm always up for some science fiction nonsense. Unfortunately this film by Juan Solanas has the visual gravitas but lacks interesting leads and a script that led me to shaking my head.

Actually more of a fantasy than sci-fi, there are two worlds, twins if you will, that apparently rotate together in orbit but a few feet apart. Each has its own gravity, so in a common office scene, the people above you appear upside down. Each world has its own political and cultural system as well. One world is inhabited by the working class. It is ugly, mostly barren and in need of an influx of capital. The other world in controlled by a giant corporation and is where the wealthy live.

Travel between the two worlds is prohibited and physically problematic otherwise. Young Adam (Jim Sturgess) likes to scramble to the highest peak, never mind how he manages to get there. He meets a young woman named...wait for it...Eden (Kirsten Dunst) who also likes to hike to this same peak but on the wealthy world. Recalling Dunst's upside down kiss with Spider-Man, the couple manages to hook up this way until they are discovered by the authorities.

As the years pass, Adam discovers that Eden was working for the corporation bad guys. He had thought she was killed during that earlier confrontation with the cops. Nope. Just lost her memory. As luck would have it, Adam is also a top notch chemist and has discovered an anti-aging cream that gets him a slot at the corporation. This of course, gives him the opportunity to reconnect with Eden.

While this might sound interesting, it isn't. Dunst and Sturgess do what they can with the lame script but their relationship is boring as hell. At the end of the film Eden tells Adam that she is having twins, I'm thinking when the hell did that happen? I actually think there's a good movie in there somewhere, but this isn't it.

Buy Jungle Beat (English, Spanish, Portuguese) (2010)

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These shorts are fantastic. Our son absolutely LOVES them and laughs so hard he's practically falling off the couch! We first saw a few shorts while he was watching Smile of a Child on tv. So, we looked online and we were very pleased that they offered the DVD of the shorts. They are very well done great animation and so creative!

Note the other DVD with the four frames on the front contain the same shorts as this one does. The Amazon page says that they are often bought together...but keep in mind they are the same! The only difference may be is that this one has more languages (which is not a big deal since there really isn't any talking that I can remember in them...perhaps it's for selection titles and such.)

Anyway, we highly recommend this. It is fantastic and your kid will love it!

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I have not seen this entire video, but I have seen many of the Jungle Beat clips on tv that are on this video. My kids ask to replay it over and over and over, laughing hilariously!! It is fun to watch for adults as well!! I was so excited to see it video form (and just ordered it) so I don't have to watch for the short clips on TV and replay then over and over!!!!! It is not your ordinary show, and it is a funny, refreshing change, obviously made by someone with a great sense of humor!

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My 18 month old are spellbound for about 30 minutes at a time with this DVD. Me as an adult also love the funny characters. This is a must for every household with little ones. WE LOVE IT!!!

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My 5 year old asks to watch this daily and my 2 year olds are entertained as well. I like that each segment is about 5 minutes long and the stories are imaginative. I would highly recommend this as a break from the usual kids' stuff.

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jungle Beat is a surprising find. A quirky series of animated adventures in which fun animal characters find themselves in unusual situations. The monkey whose tail gets a mind of its own, the giraffe who knocks the moon out of the sky, the bee whose allergic to pollen. Great fun and refreshing. The nice thing is the whole DVD is over an hour long but each episode is 5 minutes long so kids can get a quick fixed or be glued for over an hour. Fun. Give it a try.

Review of Duel in the Sun (1946)

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This first-time-ever release of the original Roadshow Version of DUEL IN THE SUN is definitive both as to length and features as well as to its sparkling new look. The Overture and Exit music, by the great Dimitri Tiomkin, prepares the viewer for this overblown, extravagant, and overlength Western. The narration during the Overture places the film in its historical context, and foreshadows the filmmakers' concerns with the Production Code Administration of the day. This film wasn't known as "Lust in the Dust" for nothing.

That this film is overdone in almost every respect shouldn't for one minute discourage the purchase of DUEL. Its tremendous cast--including a surprisingly atypical performance by the great Walter Huston as the "sin killer" preacher--is well worth seeing. While the film is overlong, the costly restoration work that has gone into this edition makes it a visual treat that, for the first time, accurately reveals the high standard of craftsmanship insisted on by its producer David O. Selznick. The colors are so sharp and true that they seem to jump out from the screen. If you are a fan of this film--as something of a "guilty pleasure"--you'll throw away the previous video release of this film with gusto. There is absolutely no comparison whatsoever. The 5-star rating is primarily for how gorgeous it looks than for the story itself. This is what great Technicolor could do during Hollywood's Golden Age. The trailers, also included in this edition, make this a great package.

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Sweeping! Magnificent! Corny! Romantic! A west that never existed is splashed across the screen as only David O. Selznick, the master of such gargantuan Hollywood classics as "Gone With the Wind", "Since You Went Away" and "Rebecca" could give us.

This is not the revisionists west of the 1990's, nor that West of the gritty operatic glamour of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West." You will not find the spare clean and lean beauty of John ford's West. What we have here is the epic telling on a screen that screams to be stretched into widescreen and spills out over the audience the lush and romantic horse Opera of Pearl Chavez, the McCanles clan and the coming of the railroads in the 1880's.

From the moment the overture replete with unneeded narration begins you know you are in for a melodrama of purple emotions and blood red vendettas. The opening scene is set in a saloon on a scale of a modern Vegas casino. There amidst the wild gunfire of overheated cowboys and insanely spinning faro wheels we are introduced to the Scarlett O'Hara of the West, half-breed Pearl Chavez. As played by Jennifer Jones she is just about the hottest tamale to ever hit the pages of a screenplay expressly written to drive men mad, turn brother against brother and defy a "Sinkiller". What Jane Russell was supposed to be in "The Outlaw" we get in Technicolor spades in the form of Miss Jones.

She takes huge hefty bites of the massive sets and chews them to a fare thee well and in the process creates a wanton character of such charm, heat and passion that she is truly a motion picture original. This is the best thing Miss Jones ever did because it is so out of control and beyond the pale of her more subdued performances. Of saints, teenage war brides and ghosts of lost love.

As Lewt McCanles we get the hottest, meanest, most excitingly nasty performance Gregory Peck ever was allowed to give. And what an irresistible bad boy he is. He was never sexier or more wonderful than in this departure from the Peck norm.

Even the usually dull Joseph Cotton manages to rise above his typically dry rolls, but not too much, in the thankless roll of the good brother. He seems a little too old for the part and a little too polished. Someone like Charlton Heston might have been more on the spot.

Lillian Gish steals every scene she is in with quite assured screen presence and only finds completion from the ever-prissy Butterfly McQueen. In her final scene with Lionel Barrymore Miss Gish makes off with the scene so quietly that you are hit with it's impact only after the fact. Barrymore creates one of his most beloved curmudgeons as Senator Jackson McCanles full of sound and furry and ultimately signifying less than nothing. His introduction to Pearl topped by a sneeringly shocking racial slur that encapsulates his character and time and place.

Another highlight is the cameo by Walter Huston as "The Sinkiller". What can be said of him is only this, pure cinematic magic.

The film unfold with such a sense of grandeur and awe that it sweeps you along to its incredible ending on the wings of epic pure camp poetry. The Dimitri Tiomkin score is a masterpiece and much famed over the years for the incredible "call of the bells" set piece.

The three cinematographers involved, Hal Rosson, Ray Rennahan, and Lee Garmes paint movie memory after memory with the palate of hot dusty hues that have long been forgotten by audiences of today. To see it now is perhaps more exciting and thrilling than it was in 1947.

All of this mad mixture of melodrama, mush and music was orchestrated by the master showman of his time, the ultimate huckster of smoke and mirrors and consummate barometer for just what we wanted in our early epics of the America that never existed, David O. Selznick, who added the "O" to his name just because it looked better on the marquee. When they say that off heard lament "They don't make'um like they used to." Both Mr. Selznick and "Duel In The Sun" are what they are talking about. If they still made them like this then something would be terribly wrong. Thank god they did make films like this once upon a time and we still have them to lose ourselves in a dream of what never was and what will never be again.

****2012 update*** This review of of the DVD marked Roadshow Edition ~ on this DVD the quality of the picture is excellent the color is brilliant and the sound is very good. So if you want the DVD I bought and viewed type in Duel In The Sun on the search line at the top of the page and look for the DVD that says, Roadshow Edition., Roadshow Edition.

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Duel in the Sun is an epic in both it's themes and production. Although it doesn't hold up nearly as well as other films from the 1940s, it has many things which will please film lovers. When Jennifer Jones, a half-breed Indian Girl named Pearl Chavez, goes to live with her dead father's ex-fiancee and her family, a love triangle develops between Lewt and Jesse McCanles, Gregorgy Peck and Joseph Cotton respectively. Peck is the low down spoiled son of Senator (Lionel Barrymore) and Laura Belle (Lillian Gish) McCanles, whose interest in Jones is purely physical. Cotton's character on the other hand has a genuine affection for Pearl and tries to protect her from his raffish younger brother. The inevitable showdown between brothers ensues, with Peck appearing the winner for Pearl's affections. Filled with enough sweep and grandeur for twenty films, Duel has some of the most interesting color cinematography ever put on celluloid. The scenes during the building of the railroad and the confrontation that follows are most impressive. Everyone in the cast seems to believe the storyline, which makes for a fun ride in spite of the downright hokiness of the plot. David O. Selznick spent six million dollars on a film that was supposed to be another Gone With the Wind and it shows. Released in 1947, Duel became one of the biggest grossing westerns of all time. It's also a testament to how popular stars can turn a mediocre story into a full blown blockbuster. With all its faults, this is a highly entertaining movie.

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--and a little bit hollow, too, for the filmmakers try to blow up an ordinary love triangle into a social and economic canvas the size of GONE WITH THE WIND, but it's just too small to fill that much space. However on all other fronts the film is magnificent and it is definitely one of the strangest pictures of the entire postwar period. The colors are rich, troubled, seething with pixels, and the musical score shouts and clamors what we all knew at heart, the west is another word for s-e-x. Selznick cleverly cast a number of silent film veterans in the cast, to trace the long history of melodrama in the movies, most notably Lillian Gish but also Lionel Barrymore, Harry Carey Sr and the incomparable Herbert Marshall, who plays Pearl's gambler father "Scott" during the first reel or two.

The younger generation, as represented by Cotten, Jones, and Peck, all visibly strain trying to be colorful, and in the case of Jones and Peck, they are rewarded with twin triumphs of overacting and sheer ham. Selznick must have sat Jennifer Jones down and force-fed her the complete filmic works of her predecessor, Maria Montez, to get her to be so over the top. As for Peck, the whole audience explodes with gasps and laughter when we hear him whistling, mournfully, "I've Been Working on the Railroad" after we see him blowing up an entire train just for the hell of it. In contrast, Cotten's a little flimsy and distracted in his part--he doesn't hold up his end of the triangle very well. Maybe Robert Walker would have been better, or Montgomery Clift, one of many to whom Selznick offered the part.

When I first saw DUEL IN THE SUN I was about fifteen and it blew me away. Contemporary films rarely feature the kind of soak-through Technicolor that Rosson and Garmes (and I guess von Sternberg, who worked on the film for many months) were able to produce here. The dancing (by Albertina "Tilly" Losch, the European answer to Martha Graham) is out of this world, and the oracular voice of Orson Welles blows the whole narrative into another dimension the minute his narration begins.

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David O. Selznick's Duel in the Sun looks strange right from the opening shot. The Technicolor images in this film have a nightmare quality about them. The whole film almost feels like a very disturbing dream. It is a Western but uses the landscape and the overly sexual Jennifer Jones to spark some erotic emotion inside the viewer the enters regions we normally would not enter. There is a very dark quality about the film that tries to explore the lust the drives the human animal. But we a are more than just animals because of our ability to reason. This film attempts to make the viewer forget all reason and give oneself up to these hidden feelings. Even Dimitri Tiomkin's score tends to reflect this strange nature of the film as he often mixes his traditional Western scoring to something more obscure and enigmatic. The finale between Jennifer Jones and Gregory Peck (cast against type) is so vivid that the images of it my last with you forever. This is powerful filmmaking, but I don't know that I could take a steady diet of it.