essers

Ladies Coragious Hay I saw B-17s, C-47s, B-25s, AT-6s, P-40s, B-24s, and a B26. That's why I watched the film in the first place - to see now vintage aircrafts. The rest of the film was very much like a soap opera. Loretta Young was stately and beautiful. She did a creditable job with a lacking script. Frank Jenks was annoying. His part could have been played by a younger actor. The reminder of the actors did their best with what they had.

I saw this when I was quite young. I hadn't heard of Charlie and his cast of characters --#2 son and Birmingham. They were quite enjoyable. The plot moved at a good pace. I particularly enjoyed the sequence where the bad guys were tracking Tommie and Birmingham in a deserted fun-house. After all these years, I still enjoy it.

If you enjoy creepy old house movies, you'll like this one.

The special effects in this WWII story were quite primitive by today's standards. It was obvious that they used a lot of model ships to tell the heroic story of the merchant seamen of that era. But as one talented author once said --- "The play's the thing!" And, it was a good play.

I really enjoyed the book by Irwin Shaw.It chronicled the war experiences of three average soldiers, two American and one German.

I went to see the movie as soon as I could. What a disappointment! Marlon had made key changes in the script I think to suite his own ego. The first change being that his character, Christen Diestl. Diestl was not a blond stereotype. He had brown hair and he was not an officer. Like his American counterparts he was an enlisted soldier – a sergeant.

The book ending is an example of powerful military writing. While Ackerman and Whiteacre are in the concentration camp, Diestl has been roaming the woods not too far away. He executes two US paratroopers who have been hung up in trees. He admires them because like him they are brave soldiers. Some time later he happens upon Ackerman and Whiteacre and decides to tale two more for the Fatherland.

In the fight that ensues, Ackerman is shot. Whiteacre, who is not a warrior, has to fight back and clumsily falls into a deep ditch. Diestl in pursuit is ready to make an easy kill. Whiteacre then panics and throws a grenade. It mortally wounds Diestl who as he dies laments that only an American would throw a grenade. He dies an unrepentant soldier.

Very little of this is in the movie. The ending scenario is quite different – thanks to Marlon.

Outside of that it was a fairly good film.

What Brando changed completely lost Irwin Shaw's literary intent.

In this case, I felt, somebody should have read the book.

This was a fun old time western that was well plotted and fast moving.

John Wayne enters a "deserted" bar that is host to dead men. It is eerily empty except for a player piano running through its program and a set of eyes peering through a picture. This was pretty cool stuff for a 1934 early talkie.

Shortly we find that the set of eyes belong to an attractive young female, Alberta Vaughn, who is sole owner of the tavern now that her father has been murdered. We are introduced to other major players. . The most interesting is Matt the Mute. He is played by Gabby Hayes who doesn't resemble the Gabby Hayes that we are used to. He has no beard. There are a few other differences that would give too much plot away.

We shortly find out that John is on the side of the good guys. Good triumphs over bad as it should in all good old westerns. Throw in the great stunt rider, Yakima Canutt and Earl Dwire, who looked like his character of the old time sheriff. And you've got a fun old time western.

Let me start by stating that Hop Harrigan was my all time favorite radio program while I was growing up. I started during WWII and stayed with it when Hop and Tank moved out of the AAF and to a civilian airport. I even ate a fair amount of dreaded Grape-Nuts Flakes in order to send away for "premiums" like the Hop Harrigan "PARA-PLANE."

http://www.hakes.com/images.asp?ItemNo=54582&ImageNo=002

Let me say that this serial is slow, old, disjointed and pretty bad. Its cliffhangers aren't even too exciting.

William Bakewell is too old and slow to play Hop. He seems quite disinterested in what is going on. In fact a lot of the cast seems much older than their parts Sumner Getchell is okay as Tank but at times moves and acts more like Curley Howard (of the Three Stooges) than the two fisted gifted mechanic that he is supposed to be portraying.

Jennifer Holt as Gail Nolan (Hop's girlfriend) does a good job as does Buzz Henry who plays her young brother. In fact Henry is quite convincing along with being good, as well as, interested in what is going on. He went on to a fair career as a stuntman until his life ended on a motorcycle outside of the cemetery where he is buried.

For the most part the rest of the cast seemed much too old and disinterested for their parts. I wondered if Colombia took a group of actors that they had under contract who needed something to do.

This film is a must see for my wife and I at Christmas time. We enjoy it so much that we bought the video. It is a lovely production.The familiar story is nicely told by Barbara Chain who did the adaptation. Jim Backus, Morey Amsterdam and Jack Cassidy are familiar names who lend their verbal talents to their characters. In fact the whole cast does a great job.

I would like to especially mention Jane Kean who plays Bell, the beautiful lost love of Ebenezer Scrooge. Her haunting voice gives so much to the story. The musical score of Jule Styne and Bob Merril goes beyond being memorable. It makes the production.

About the only thing that some critics may point a finger at is the animation. Yes. It is quite primitive. But that doesn't take away from the production. In fact, in my opinion it adds to it because it doesn't get in the way. As one writer once said – "The play's the thing."

The daredevils/heroes are: Gene-- the brains of the outfit, Tiny – a gifted strongman, and Bert -- an agile escape artist. They are aided by Carole Landis who plays Blanche Grandville – the granddaughter of Horace Grandville whose multimillion dollar industrial complex is under attack by master criminal 39013. This film is twelve chapters of action packed cliff-hanging fun.

I particularly liked the fact that these circa 1939 daredevils did almost all of their action scenes in double breasted three piece suits!

The history of the major actors is quite interesting:

Dave Sharpe,Bert, became an Army pilot during WWII and a major stuntman; having a long and celebrated career in the industry. He has been ranked with the great Yakima Canutt.

Charles Quigley, Gene, had a good career but died of cirrhosis of the liver before he turned sixty.

Bruce Bennet aka Herman Brix, who played Tiny, was a 1928 Olympic champion who went on to a very long career and lived to be over 100 years old.

Carole Landis was 29 when she committed suicide.

I bought this film because of the multitude of glowing reviews found on this forum. I was not disappointed!

I had almost forgotten about this gem of a movie but my memory was jogged by Jane Wyman's death.

I first saw it shortly after the opening in NYC -- in '56. I remember being very impressed then and really taken with it about 30 years later when I saw it on late night TV. It is a great, forgotten movie – well written, well plotted and beautifully acted. The magic of two lovers is vivid – Johnson opposite Wyman. It contains many beautiful characterizations well acted by the artists. You can almost pick any name in the cast and come up with an outstanding performance. Beside the leads, William Gargan stands out as Jane's "lost" father. Alan King is a great side-kick. – And on and on!

One reviewer compared it to "A Portrait of Jennie." Yes. It has that kind of magic!

I'd like to be added to the yea chorus.

I was about eleven when I saw it as part of a "kiddy" show. The haunted house stuff that brought me there, in the first place, was not disappointing. However, what really impressed me was the music. The musical production numbers ranked high on my eleven-year-old rating system. This is very interesting because, at that time, I cared more about the exploits of John Wayne and Roy Rogers than any musical number.

Thinking back, I am still impressed.

Put this one to that list of – I sure would like to see it again!

This is a WWII swashbuckler!

I remember seeing it as the second half of the double bill at the Avalon in Brooklyn in 1952. The feature was something "serious" like Winchester '73. Anyway, as the film progressed, I said more than once: " This is really a good movie!" – I was 15.

Forrester (Cornel Wilde) is the man of mystery. He is a Marine who does a stint with the French Foreign Legion. This was all in the European Theater. He is recruited by, maybe, the OSS to parachute into Nazi territory and check on the devastation wrought by our B 17's.

With the help of a phony nun (Phyllis Thaxter) he is able to secure films of a German top secret weapon. These real weapon films are truly fascinating. Even the combat footage of the 17's is better than average. The whole thing ends with a shoot out on a beach where the main characters are to be picked up by a submarine. We then pan to an executive board type hearing to find out ---- Who is Forrester?

Phyllis Thaxter was beautiful. Cornel Wilde was adequate but quite dashing. Karl Malden, as the Legion's Maj. Latrec, shows some of the charisma that would blossom into his great talent.

Yes. It was a B black and white movie. It WAS a good one!

This film was geared to the radio generation.

It's a flight action film where the combat "footage" is strictly verbal. The plot centers on an U. S. Army Air Force squadron stationed at a remote airfield somewhere in or near Australia during the latter part of WWII. The outfit has been invincible. They have shot down a fair amount of Japanese aircraft without loosing one pilot. If I remember correctly, they're flying P40's – a plane that was at its' best before the war. There is a romantic side to the plot, but I was too young to pay it much attention to it.

A cast of feature and B actors give solid performances. Nearly all of them went on to extended careers in the movies and television.

The radio reports from the air battles are vivid and well played. The 1948 audience had very little trouble visualizing the pitched combat. To most of us the pictures conjured up by the verbal descriptions were much more life like than anything that TV could offer at that time. "---------------- I repeat. They've got a plane, much better that the Zero!------------------------"

Yes. We knew how to see the action!

Some notes: 1948 gave us other military action films that survive today only on television. "Beyond Glory" with Alan Ladd is a story about a decorated Army Capt. who enrolls at West Point after the war. Look for an early Audie Murphy appearance. "Fighter Squadron" staring Edmond O'Brian & Robert Stack was also released during that peacetime year. Lots of P-47 combat film here.

I would like to see all three on DVD.

This is a magical film with a magical ending. Black and white changes to color as the actual portrait of Jennie is shown in its proper setting, as a focal point exhibit in a major art museum. As three teenage girls discuss Jennie's beauty you have to agree about that beauty, as well as, the total beauty of the whole film. Those three uncredited young teenage actresses all became major leading women . They are:Anne Francis, Nancy Olson and Nancy Davis.

It is a beautiful ghost story full of magical performances and settings. There are so many outstanding portrayals that I am forced to give director William Dieterle and writer/producer David O.Selznick et al. the lion's share of credit for an outstanding product. Robert Nathan, who provided the original novel, must also be heralded.

Beside lead acting of Jones and Cotton, Barrymore, Gish, Kellaway, and Maude Simmons deserve excellent ratings for their supporting work.

If you like a romantic ghost story, set in one beautiful place after another, this is one of the best.

William Holden is Cmdr. White a quite mature man who suffers through the boredom of the post WW II Navy. He is chained to a desk on a base near his old submarine, which has been decommissioned and mothballed. He visits it periodically to experience his wartime ghosts. He is so bored that he seriously considers chucking the Navy and taking a more lucrative civilian job. Nancy Olson plays his understanding Navy wife. William Bendex is also on hand with old time Chief Petty Officer wisdom and to remind Holden of his ghosts.

Don Taylor portrays the fun and games Navy pilot who is anything but mature. He is teaching ROTC at a nearby college. They met at the end of the war when White's submarine rescued him. They maintain a friendship even though White is at times disturbed by his happy-go-lucky well adjustment.

When The Korean War starts White is rescued from his desk and placed in command of ----- (You guessed it!) his old submarine. Taylor and Holden are united again off the Korean Coast where boat and men undertake a movie ending dangerous mission.

This was a feel good war movie that wasn't loaded with dated propaganda. Holden narrates as he did in Sunset Blvd. where he first played opposite Olson.

If you like military movies, this is a good one.