heatmise

I loved the first season of this show, but it gets down right ridiculous with each episode the next two seasons. Season Three is horrible from start to finish. It is filled with every sitcom cliche you have ever seen. I still thoroughly recommend the fist season, but seasons two and three will only disappoint those looking for the magic of the first season. I loved the chemistry between the two lead characters and it is hard not to fall in love with Andy Allo as Nora. A good deal of the show's appeal rest firmly on Allo's shoulders. Allo works very well within the space of the romcom romantic lead. She is both beautiful and approachable.

In a career of classic performances this may be Judy Garland's best role and one that certainly uses her many talents to the hilt. James Mason gives an Oscar caliber performance as well and I believe in almost any other year that he wasn't up against Brando's "On the Waterfront" performance he would and should have won.

This George Cukor film features gorgeous color and beautiful cinematography, but does suffer from choppy editing that may be the result of restored footage. The project to restore over an hour of missing footage scrapped by the producers after the original length was in excess of four and a half hours may have been done with the best intentions, but is still incomplete and leaves the film disjointed and obviously lacking. I certainly wish the original footage was never scrapped, but this spotty attempt at restoration makes you feel like your watching more of a project than a classic film. Sometimes less is more and definitely in this case.

Whatever you do make sure you see the widescreen version of this film that was originally shot in Cinemascope or you will only see about a third of the actual picture and I assure you, you won't want to miss any of it.

This film has a rare and beautiful honest quality seldom seen to this magnitude in pictures. Made during the height of McCarthyism in the 1950s it was produced completely by a blacklisted crew and professional cast. The film itself was banned in the U.S.A. by congress until the late 1960s. The picture is based on a true story of Mexican-American mine workers on strike in New Mexico. It deals with the wives of the miners having to to step up and work the picket lines in place of their husbands who were legally banned from picketing. Many of the cast members were actual participants in the original strike and the leading lady was deported before the film was even finished. The story of the struggle to make this film would actually make a good film. Ironically the film is very patriotic and shows what truly makes America great; it's people. A strong man and woman's picture with a genuinely beautiful fighting human spirit. It's one of a kind.

Never before have I seen a movie that tried so hard to alienate it's target audience. A children's / family film obsessed with death and the hurting of innocent creatures doesn't settle well with me, but still this movie has a strange draw when taken as an adult film that longs for the lost innocence of youth. This movie's beautiful, Academy Award winning cinematography and vivid Technicolor are worth the view alone and the fine performances of the entire cast lift the film far above the usual sentimental tearjerkers.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in this delightful romantic musical comedy with a twist on the usual Fred and Ginger plot. Though odd and short in the musical number department, this teasing romantic romp features some of their best dancing and good humor to boot. Ginger Rogers is nothing short of stunning in this picture and Mr. Astaire's feet never touch the ground. Definitely their most underrated film.

Mervyn LeRoy directs this irresistible and touching depression-era musical. Busby Berkeley's choreography is as breath-taking as ever, as are the bevy of beautiful women in the elaborate productions. Many great musical numbers highlight this film including "We're in the Money" in which a then unknown, Ginger Rogers sings in Pig Latin. A host of other oddities can be found as always when Mr. Berkeley is involved. Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell are sensational as dancing and singing lovebirds and all works out well in the end. The show does close on a noticeably strange note with the very powerful protest number regarding the depression called "Forgotten Man" masterfully delivered by bombshell, Joan Blondell. A truly original and memorable musical.

I guess there was a time when this wasn't a tired old plot, but it was long before the filming of this awful picture. I'm sure the Academy Voters of the time, who voted it Best Picture, were mesmerized by the freshness of the idea of a musical motion picture with the recent advent of sound in the industry, but this film features highlights such as lousy performances, uninspired songs, unprofessional singing, a juvenile script, incompetent editing and it is also boring. It's not even good enough to be forgettable. This is truly a film that has nothing going for except that inconsistent little golden trophy.

Lon Chaney, Sr. gives a legendary performance as well as making an everlasting horrifying spectacle of himself. The make-up and elaborate sets are truly to be held in awe, even by today's standards. The rare use of two-strip Technicolor brings dazzling effect to the incomparable masquerade ball scene. Sit back and enjoy the silent and definitive film version of a classic monster fable that sound, technology and time have yet to top. 8 Stars