The Neverending Stories: Still More 60s Movies

2024年7月6日星期六

Still More 60s Movies

I'll be adding to this as I go along.

I'm discontinuing the "Where Are They Now?" section. The 60s were a long time ago, and I think we can safely assume that most of the adults in these films are no longer with us.

1. Blood and Black Lace (1964)

Film noir, sex, violence and a distinctly Italian sensibility with regard to color and proportion: the elements of giallo are all here. Director Mario Bava had a big influence on the horror genre, both in his own country and abroad.

The Premise: Several young women employed by an Italian fashion house are killed by a mysterious assailant.

Overall: As you might expect it's extremely stylish. The characters are a bit thin, but maybe that's beside the point.

2. Danger: Diabolik (1968)

The Premise: A stylish superthief stays one step ahead of both organized crime and law enforcement.

Overall: You don't get more 60s than this movie. It's like they inverted one of the James Bond films, turned everything up to 11, and the result is a glorious love letter to primary colors, cool cars and improbable gadgets. The skirts are SHORT, the men are impeccably dressed, and many of the sets look like Ken Adam's fever dreams.

Mario Bava directed this film after Blood and Black Lace, and like that movie Danger: Diabolik isn't trying to say anything profound. For those who can sit back and enjoy this kind of film it's a lot of fun.

Fun Fact 1: This movie was produced in tandem with Barbarella.

Fun Fact 2: A new trilogy of Diabolik films was released in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

3. El Cid (1961)

The Premise: Charlton Heston defends medieval Spain from enemies at home and abroad.

Overall: As big, bombastic Hollywood spectacles go this one is strictly mid-level. I had some issues with the story, in particular El Cid's knack for turning up at opportune moments and Sophia Loren's change of heart halfway through the film. It's certainly watchable, but by the same token it's also extremely forgettable.

4. The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)

The Premise: A convict and a troubled priest cross paths on a remote Polynesian island.

Overall: Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra play the kind of roles they were known for, but the setting is relatively novel and the threat posed by the island's active volcano is present without being too present.

My one complaint (three complaints, really) is the ending. Why did Frank Sinatra drive back up the mountain? Why the pointless religious discussion after that point? And why the "boy" there, after their companion sacrificed his life to save them all?

Fun Fact: Some see in The Devil at 4 O'Clock one of the earliest disaster movies, a genre (arguably) perfected during the following decade.

5. Tomb of Torture (1963)

"A good enema is what you need, and above all don't get frightened!"

The Premise: Low budget, Grindhouse-style horror feature in which several people fall victim to a deranged man lurking beneath a castle.

Overall: It's a fun little movie. A HUGE bomb in Italy, where it was made and first released, but it did slightly better overseas.

6. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

The Premise: Jimmy Stewart and Co. attempt to extricate themselves from the desert after a crash landing.

Overall: The music dates it a bit, but if you can get past that aspect of the movie The Flight of the Phoenix is genuinely great. Just think of the risks they took with this one. The cool, calculating German as... the hero? That was a BIG ask at the time, and this movie pulled it off.

Best Picture? Best Director?: Robert Aldrich was up against The Sound of Music that year, so yeah, it wasn't going to happen, but in a parallel universe I would have gladly handed him an Oscar.

Fun Fact: This movie was remade in 2004 with Dennis Quaid in the lead role.

7. Savages From Hell (1968)

The Premise: Hot women and motorcycles, and in-between the leader of the gang tries to make off with a sexy local girl.

Overall: Some of the worst acting ever committed to celluloid. The Wild One it definitely isn't.

8. 55 Days at Peking (1963)

The Premise: Something something China after the Boxer Rebellion. I'm sorry, that's as far as I got. That is so obviously NOT Peking (Beijing), and those are so obviously British people doing yellowface in the presence of Charlton Heston.

Overall: Sorry, I've lived in Taiwan for 24 years, I've spent much of that time studying Mandarin and Chinese history, and I just couldn't do this one. It may well be a good movie if you can look past the glaring historical inaccuracies and the yellowface, not to mention the signage obviously written by people who didn't know how to write the language, but for me it was a bridge too far.

9. This is Not a Test (1962)

The Premise: Several inexplicably credulous strangers find themselves stranded on a mountain highway, convinced that it's the end of the world.

Overall: Interesting concept, but the script fails to fully realize it. The characters are cardboard-thin, and everyone takes everything at face value. By the end -- nuclear holocaust or not -- it's impossible to care about them one way or another.

10. Holiday in Spain (a.k.a. "Scent of Mystery") (1960)

The Premise: A British mystery writer finds himself involved in a mysterious plot after crossing paths with a beautiful woman in Spain.

Overall: Denholm Elliot's voiceovers REALLY wear out their welcome. Both he and Peter Lorre are charming in their respective roles, but Elliot's character's running commentary is/was unnecessary. This said, this movie isn't bad so much as extremely forgettable.

Fun Fact: This was the first Smell-O-Vision movie. Scents were released into the theater during key moments in the film.

11. The House in Marsh Road (1960)

The Premise: An unhappily married couple moves into a haunted house.

Overall: Good. The screenplay was tightly constructed and the ending -- while something of a foregone conclusion -- makes sense.

12. Man in the Middle (a.k.a. "The Winston Affair") (1964)

The Premise: An army lawyer with little experience is called upon to defend a fellow serviceman accused of murder.

Overall: An excellent motion picture. It was the kind of role that Robert Mitchum excelled at, and in director Guy Hamilton's hands not a second of screen time is wasted.

Fun Fact: In the world of Asian-American stage and screen France Nuyen was a trailblazer. She played the female lead in 1958's South Pacific and originated the role of Suzie Wong for the play The World of Suzie Wong.

13. Salt and Pepper (1968)

Directed by Richard Donner! Yes, that Richard Donner! This was his second movie as director after 1961's X-15.

The Premise: Zaniness results once a mysterious woman infiltrates Sammy Davis Jr.'s and Peter Lawford's swinging London nightclub.

Overall: The cast features some very beautiful women, and the whole thing passes by breezily enough, but those looking for meatier fare are hereby directed elsewhere. Salt and Pepper is more of a time capsule, showcasing the time and place that produced it.

Fun Fact: All things being equal, one day we'll see a movie based on Sammy Davis Jr.'s life. Lord knows such a movie is long overdue. In 2017 a production team which included Lionel Ritchie entered into an agreement with Sammy's estate with this goal in mind.

14. The Cardinal (1963)

The Premise: An ambitious young man rises through the ranks of the Catholic church.

Overall: Otto Preminger directed a lot of great movies and this is one of them.

15. A Man Could Get Killed (1966)

The Premise: Something about industrial diamonds? I'm not entirely sure.

Overall: The characters are engaging and there are some funny scenes in this movie, but the plot verges on incoherent.

Fun Fact: James Garner and costar Tony Franciosa were not fond of each other. That fight near the end became a real physical altercation in the midst of the shoot.

16. The Road to Hong Kong (1962)

The Premise: Bing Crosby and Bob Hope run afoul of a secret organization searching for an even more secret formula.

Overall: Aside from a lot of white people doing yellowface and random Chinese words in the background it's not as "racial" as you might expect. The plot is largely irrelevant, but some of the gags are still funny.

Fun Fact 1: There are 6 other Road to... movies, the others being The Road to Singapore, The Road to Zanzibar, The Road to Morocco, The Road to Utopia, The Road to Rio and The Road to Bali. The franchise extended from 1940 to 1962. An eighth film, The Road to the Fountain of Youth, was planned but later canceled after Bing Crosby died of a heart attack.

Fun Fact 2: This movie was only shot in black and white to maintain the tone established in previous installments.

17. A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)

The Premise: Pirates Anthony Quinn and James Coburn contend with a boatload of precocious children.

Overall: The script focuses on the cute kids at the expense of the story. The conflict between Coburn and Quinn should have been front and center. With it pushed into the background the ending of this film is far from satisfying.

18. Poisoned Trust (a.k.a. "Nine Miles to Noon") (1963)

The Premise: An American con-man journeys to Greece to track down his ex-wife and son.

Overall: The boy playing the con-man's son is a good actor, but his character is so annoying that it distracts from the rest of the film. There are countless movies from the time period featuring an estranged spouse in search of payback or personal enrichment, so there's no reason to seek this one out.