Movie Review: The Inn of Sixth Happiness
Year of Release: 1958
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Curd Jürgens, Robert Donat
Plot outline: A true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II (IMDb).
Ingrid Bergman's capacity to convey a sense of supreme sincerity with little more to work with in the way of a character than a simple and wholesome facade is touchingly demonstrated in this movie. In it, the lovely Bergman, grown a bit matronly and plump, plays an English housemaid who goes to China in the Nineteen Thirties. Through patience, enterprise and sincerity, she is able to win her way into the confidence of the superstitious natives and of the haughty mandarin, who initially puts a variety of sutble obstacles in her way. The script, adapted from the biography of Gladys Aylward entitled "The Small Woman", unfortunately provided no clarification as to what makes the heroine tick. The justification of her achievements is revealed by no other displays than those of Bergman's mellow beauty, friendly manner and melting charm. Her not-so-small woman is most appealing, but she is still just a sturdy facade. Curd Jürgens is remarkedly gracious as the Chinese army officer and Robert Donat is refined and regal as the aged mandarin. Athene Seyler gives a warm and wry performance as the missionary, and Ronald Squire and Moultrie Kelsall are "veddy propah" as old China hands. The settings and outdoor scenery are fine, giving a striking illusion of China, even though filmed in Wales. They provide a real and rugged background for the long trek of the kids, which is the most credible, moving and memorable adventure in the movie. (NYT)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Year of Release: 1954
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
Plot outline: Set during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges (IMDb).
This movie representation of the part of Navy fliers in the Korean war - and especially of one jet pilot who commits himself to his duty gallantly -not only is true to the original, but also succeeds in bringing the whole thing excitingly alive. The best stuff in this picture are the accounts of aircraft carrier operations and of Navy men afloat and ashore. They are the details of ready-room briefings, of shooting jet planes off cold flight decks, of crackling communications among the planes in the air, of bombing runs on Korean targets, of nerve-racking landings back on the deck and of hasty, heroic maneuvers by the helicopter fellows to fish downed pilots out of the sea. Respect for the heroic effort is immediately inspired. But, of course, there is more to this picture than the mere documenting of ships and planes. There is a poignant story of naval personnel - of a "retread" jet-plane pilot who resents having been called back for this war, of his crisply efficient group commander, his task force admiral and several more. And there is, in a brief but pregnant passage, an indication of the jet pilot's wife and of the pull of his love for his family, from which he has been torn away. In putting forth their stories, the producers and director Mark Robson have been as meticulous and authentic as they have been with Navy details. They have cast the movie to perfection and seen that it is played with rare restraint. William Holden, who plays the pilot, shows a man of mature intelligence, collecting himself for a perilous effort, from which he sees there is no backing down. Fredric March as the paternalistic admiral fairly cracks with the tension of concern, and Charles McGraw as the air group commander carries grave responsibilities with grim resolve. Grace Kelly is briefly bewitching as the pilot's wife, who visits him in Japan, and Mickey Rooney is a pint-sized tornado as a helicopter pilot who loves to clown and fight. Robert Strauss, Earl Holliman and Richard Shannon are solid as other personnel. The questions put in this picture as to the point of the Korean war and the great personal sacrifices in it are not answered, nor are the answers sought. Its purpose is not to answer questions. Its purpose simply is to show the human and professional resolution, organization and sacrifice that prosecution of the war required. And it has fulfilled this purpose in a truly efficient and moving way. (NYT)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: 3:10 to Yuma
Year of Release: 1957
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Delmer Daves
Cast: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr
Plot outline: When the outlaw leader Ben Wade is captured, the sheriff must run the gauntlet to get him out of town (IMDb).
3:10 to Yuma follows substantially the same route as that memorable Western High Noon (in High Noon, the menace was coming out of prison; in this movie, he is going in), and it reaches its terminal situation in a remarkably similar way. Despite the similarity, 3:10 to Yuma is a good Western movie, loaded with suspenseful situations and dusty atmosphere. The opening scene of a stage-coach holdup is crisply and ruggedly staged, and all the incidents of lawmen versus bandits are developed nicely from there. The whole thing is neatly acted. Van Heflin as the hero sweats and strains and brings himself up to the crisis like a man truly frightened and torn. Glenn Ford is insultingly casual as the bandit leader who trades on his charm. Richard Jaeckel is harsh as his top henchman, and Henry Jones is droll and deft as a brave drunk. Another good performance is turned in by Robert Emhardt as the proprietor of the stage line who is brave up to a point and then goes cold. As the inevitable females, Leora Dana is austere as the hero's wife, and Felicia Farr is amusingly off-beat and even poignant as a passing saloon girl. (NYT)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: The Robe
Year of Release: 1953
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Henry Koster
Cast: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson
Plot outline: Marcellus, a tribune in the time of Christ, is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus. Tormented by nightmares and delusions after the event, he returns to Palestine to try and learn what he can of the man he killed (IMDb).
The script emphasizes physical action more than the drama of feelings and words. The power of Christ's presence and spirit upon a Roman tribune's slave and then, in time, upon the tribune is not developed in clear dramatic terms; it is simply presented as an assumption upon which the subsequent action turns. The consequence is that the inspiration of the spirit, which is the key to the story that is told, is a matter of sheer deduction from the surge of music and the expressions in eyes. Likewise, the slowness of the pacing through many of the major sequences and the intricacies of the plotting, which run the picture for more than two hours, tend to affect the burdened senses with a feeling of frank monotony. However, the vastness of the images, the eye-filling vigor of the action and the beauty of some of the shots compensate with fascinations and excitements that keep the customer upright in his chair. And the performances by the actors are - all things considered - remarkably good. Richard Burton is stalwart, spirited and stern as the arrogant Roman tribune who has command of the crucifixion of Jesus and who eventually becomes a passionate convert through an obsession about the Savior's robe. Jean Simmons is lovely and impassioned as the Roman maid who loves this headstrong man, Victor Mature is muscular and moody as the early converted Greek slave. Michael Rennie is solemn and transcendent as Simon Called Peter, whom they call "the big fisherman", Dean Jagger is full of piety as a humble convert and Jay Robinson is warped and shrill as Caligula. Several other actors comport themselves in minor roles according to the moods of the occasions that director Henry Koster has decreed. It is notable that Christ is seen only as a wide-robed figure on a distant hill and a tormented, indistinguishable victim burdened beneath the heavy Cross. In this respect the picture has dignity and restraint. (NYT)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: Demetrius and the Gladiators
Year of Release: 1954
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Delmer Daves
Cast: Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, Barry Jones, Ernest Borgnine
Plot outline: The story picks up at the point where The Robe ends, following the martyrdom of Marcellus and Diana (IMDb).
The matter of Christian devotion versus pagan tyranny, which became quite a subject for conversation through most of the two hours of The Robe, underlies the dramatic action in this sequel, but the conflict between the two forces is expressed in more direct and muscular terms. The producer and the writer obviously figured that religion may get the people to church, but it takes something more in the way of action to get them into the theatre. So they have millinered this saga along straight Cecil B. Devotional lines, which means stitching on equal cuttings of spectacle, action, sex and reverence. They have got our old friend, Demetrius, still played by Victor Mature, as a prisoner of the Romans and a conscript at the gladiator school. This place is presided over (of all people!) by Ernest Borgnine, the fellow who played Fatso in From Here to Eternity. And it isn't long before Demetrius is not only taking brutality but also finding pious reasons to dish it out, handsomely. Likewise, his sacrosanct resistance to Susan Hayward, who plays the wife of Barry Jones' toddling Claudius, crumbles eventually before the snorting passion of Hayward and a few strokes of circumstance. And it isn't until Michael Rennie, as Peter, comes around like a stern bill collector and taps him that he gets back upon the straight-and-narrow. Meanwhile, director Delmer Daves has dropped in a vast lot of slamming and banging of gladiators, dancing by gauzy handmaidens, rolling around on the floor by assorted female entertainers and general raising of hob. Every so often, Jay Robinson, who didn't quite split his lungs playing the role of Caligula, makes a heroic effort to complete the job in the same role. If we never again see Robinson, we'll be neither sorry nor surprised. This one is no more like The Robe than either of them is like nature or Roman history. (NYT)
My judgement: ** out of 4 stars
Year of Release: 1958
