Amazon.com essential video

From its cleverly choreographed opening sequence to its heart-stopping climax on a rampant carousel, this 1951 Hitchcock classic readily earns its reputation as one of the director's finest examples of timeless cinematic suspense. It's not just a ripping-good thriller but a film student's delight and a perversely enjoyable battle of wits between tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and his mysterious, sycophantic admirer, Bruno (Robert Walker), who proposes a "criss-cross" scheme of traded murders. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Tough stuff from director Fritz Lang(M), making his first American film with this 1936 story of an innocent man (Spencer Tracy) who escapes a lynch mob and then orchestrates his apparent murder at their hands. Tracy is superb, and the film is uncompromising, until studio interference takes some of the wind out of Lang's sails right at the end. But as the portrait of a character who comes to reflect the destiny he is trying to avoid, this is still essential Lang and a pre-noir classic.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Lang's First American Film
An insightful study of mob rule, director Fritz Lang's "Fury" (1936) still packs a disturbing punch -- abetted by excellent performances from Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney and Bruce Cabot. The closing shot was studio-imposed and unnecessary, but does not lessen the film's overall impact. "Fury" remains a powerful, thought-provoking drama. The DVD release includes an excellent commentary track from director Peter Bogdanovich.

We've Seen the Enemy And He is Us
What is amazing about Fritz Lang's "Fury" is it's depiction of middle America gone psychotic is it was distributed by MGM, the studio that advanced the Norman Rockwell idyll more than any other.This mirror of the darkest recesses of the American heart remains an obscurity, probably because we cannot admit to ourselves that when law and order break down we are capable of some of the most abhorent behavior.Obvious parallels can be made to what was occuring in Germany at the time of this film's release but our history suggests that, yes, it can happen here.There are many images that are seared in my consciousness from this film none more than that of one of the unruly lynchers munching on a hot dog as the jailhouse burns.Spencer Tracy is simply brilliant as the average Joe who, as a victim of circumstance, becomes the lightning rod for the mob's wrath.Sylvia Sidney contributes solid work as Joe's fiancee and the film's voice of reason.An underrated actress, Sidney also did a good turn in another classic film released in 1936, "Dead End".This film has to be commended for it's brute honesty, though, it took a foreigner to reveal some harsh truths about ourselves.

Smart 1930s Morality Tale from Fritz Lang with Spencer Tracy
"Fury" was legendary German director Fritz Lang's first American film. He spoke English, but not well enough at the time to write fluid dialogue, so Lang worked on the script with writer Bartlett Cormack, who did the actual writing. Lang and Cormack based this morality tale of mob psychology and revenge on a story outline by Norman Krasna entitled "Mob Rule", but they incorporated some elements of a real lynching case that had recently occurred in San Jose, California. Lang's intention was to give the film a realistic, documentary feel. "Fury" gives the impression of looking at the laws and customs of the United States through foreign eyes, which, of course, it is, but I don't know if Lang meant that to be so evident.

Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is a man very much in love with his fiancée Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). The couple are eager to get married but don't yet have enough savings. Katherine takes a job in another city to earn more money, while Joe works hard in Chicago. After over a year of this arrangement, Joe has saved enough money to marry Katherine, and he sets out in his new car to join her. But he is intercepted by police en route and arrested on suspicion of being part of a kidnapping gang. He is held in a small town jail pending further investigation, but gossip spreads of the arrest, and an angry mob descends on the jail. When the mob is unable to break into the cells, they burn and dynamite the jail. Joe is thought to have died in the fire. But he escaped and is determined to avenge his attempted murder by seeing that the lynch mob is prosecuted for murder.

"Fury" isn't the least bit subtle in its message. It states its morals outright, but that doesn't undermine its power. The film is neatly divided into 2 parts: Part one concerns the Fury of the Mob, and part two is about Joe's Fury. The fury of the mob is transferred to its victim, and, although Joe's anger is more justified, "Fury" asserts that it is just as corrosive. At one point, the town barber delivers a monologue on violent impulse. The entertainment value that the public finds in both the lynching and subsequent trial is emphasized. And the state's Governor is reluctant to answer the Sheriff's request for National Guardsmen to protect the jail on account of election politics. The film is generally complimentary of the justice system, but scathingly critical of "mob justice" and vigilantism. "Fury" wasn't a failure when it was released, but neither was it a big success. Looking at it now, I wonder if that may have been because the film is critical of its audience. That's always a recipe for dismal box office. In any case, "Fury" is a smart "social conscience" film of the 1930s that doesn't align itself with any political party or group.

The DVD (Warner Brothers 2005 release): The picture and sound quality are good, but I don't think this is a restored print due to occasional small white specks. The flaws would hardly be noticeable unless you were looking for them, though. There is a theatrical trailer and an audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich and director Fritz Lang. Yes, Fritz Lang! The commentary alternates between Peter Bogdanovich discussing Lang and the film in the present day and an interview with Fritz Lang that Bogdanovich did in mid-1965. Lang talks about his career, writing and filming "Fury", and differences between American and German filmmaking. Lang's commentary is quite a treat and very interesting. Bogdanovich is also interesting, as he fills in some of the gaps in Lang's comments. The audio commentary is definitely worth a listen. Subtitles for the film are available in English, Spanish, and French.

The scary thing...
is that this film is, with just a little tweaking, just as applicable today as it was then. Mob mentality is mob mentality, even if it's not literal. This is easily one of the best films to illustrate just how imbecilic and lemminglike mobs can be, and how self-righteousness can supposedly cover up for a multitude of sins. Tracy is superb, as are many of the characters, and Lang's direction is near flawless. The only things that keep this from being a 5-star film: The ending, which was forced on lang by the studio, and the fact that some of the acting, including Sydney in parts, is too over the top. Still, one worth watching and owning.

Brutal film !
The inner demons hidden in a crowd will explode with all the expected fury around and innocent man acussed unfairly .

The sociological study of the human being is exposed in all its ugly nakeness .

So after you watch this sinister nightmare brilliantly played by Spencer Tracy, please remind that famous reflection of Ibsen taken from An enemy of the people : ^The majority never has the reason^ .

This movie was the first one made for Lang when he came to North America after leaving Germany .

A major cult movie ! ... Read more

Amazon.com

From its cleverly choreographed opening sequence to its heart-stopping climax on a rampant carousel, this 1951 Hitchcock classic readily earns its reputation as one of the director's finest examples of timeless cinematic suspense. It's not just a ripping-good thriller but a film student's delight and a perversely enjoyable battle of wits between tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and his mysterious, sycophantic admirer, Bruno (Robert Walker), who proposes a "criss-cross" scheme of traded murders. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. Better still, the two-sided DVD edition of this enduring classic includes both the original version of the film and also the longer prerelease British print, which offers a more overt depiction of Bruno's flamboyant and dangerous personality, and his homoerotic attraction to Guy by way of his deviously indecent proposal. In accordance with the cautious censorship guidelines of the period, Hitchcock would later tame these elements of Walker's memorable performance by trimming and altering certain scenes, so the differences between the original and prerelease versions provide an illuminating illustration of censorship's effect on the story's thematic intensity. Beyond all the historical footnotes and film-buff fascination, Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (82)

EXCELLENT!!
Excellent suspense movie about innocent-looking tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger), involved in a murder against his own will, by an eccentric, over-the-top character played masterfully by great american actor (by then, Jennifer Jones' ex-husband) Robert Walker.

Hitchcock builds the film into a great final climax, holding your complete attention from the very start of the story, at the train station.

Good acting by the leading couple, Farley Granger and Ruth Roman (playing his sweetheart and bride-to-be, after the divorce from his obnoxious wife). Excellent performances by the aforementioned Walker as Bruno Antony, Patricia Hitchcok (as Roman's sister, who has a liking for criminal stories), Kasey Rogers (as Granger's wife) and Marion Lorne (as Bruno Antony's mother).

The fact that the DVD contains the original US and UK versions, the latter two minutes longer, is a must. Especially noticing the trimming that underwent the initial scenes between Walker and Granger in the american version, and the final "happy ending" scene added for the same version.

Fans of '60s TV series "Bewitched", will have a field day watching "Aunt Clara" (Marion Lorne) as the over-indulging mother of spoiled and egotistical Bruno Antony and "Louise Tate" (Kasey Rogers, billed as Laura Elliott) who plays over-sexed and amoral Miriam, Guy Haines' wife.

Don't talk to strangers!
Farley Granger appeared in only two Hitchcock films. He was the nerve racked killer in Rope who ended up not being able to handle the reality of his crime and gave up in the end, and he is the ill-fated tennis star who happens upon a total stranger during a train ride in this film, Strangers on a Train. Too bad. Granger is talented in this role, evoking sympathy from the audience even when he was guilty as sin in Rope. In this movie, it's hard to really blame him for the events that transpire.

Two men meet and strike up a conversation based on Bruno's (Robert Walker in a chilling performance) ability to recognize Guy Haines (Granger) from the tennis court. During the conversation, it is discovered that Bruno hates his father and wants him dead, and that Guy has a wife who is causing trouble for him. Guy wants to marry the daughter of a senator, but needs his current wife out of the picture.

Bruno has the answer. We swap murders, and then there is no motive. Guy laughs it off, but he stops laughing quick when Bruno actually kills Guy's wife and expects him to murder his father in return. By the way, the murder of the wife is some of Hitch's best camera work ever, as he shows the choking in the reflection of the woman's eyeglasses.

Guy has no credible alibi, so he is suspect number one. Bruno keeps on him the whole time, threatening to frame him (Bruno has Guy's lighter that he can plant at the scene), so it becomes a race for Guy to prove his innocence. The scene on the merry go round is a classic, even if a bit unrealistic.

The characters are great, the story strong and the direction superb. You simply can't go wrong with this one. The great suspense films of today owe a debt of gratitude to Strangers on a Train.

Misinformed
I recently purchased, yet , another copy of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN because the description of this edition read WIDESCREEN. Lured by that promise, I again spent the money, because the copy I already owned was not widescreen. To my great disappointment, I have learned (by watching my newly purchased DVD) that my new copy is, in fact, the exact same edition I already owned: STANDARD format and NOT WIDESCREEN. Beware the description for this issue: it misinforms. If it is WIDESCREEN you want, this is not it!

Crisscross
After the spectacular successes of "Notorious" and "Spellbound" Alfred Hitchcock went into a five year box-office slump that had him seriously rattled. He broke out again in 1951 with "Strangers," a fable about a tennis player (Farley Granger) whose murderous private thoughts are brought horrifically to life through his chance encounter with a maniac (Robert Walker). Be careful what your wish for, you may get it, is Hitchcock's theme, and he never did a better job of exploring the border between our civilized and barbaric impulses than in this project. This is usually the performance for which Walker is best remembered, completed shortly before he drank himself to death. The murder of Granger's wife is still shocking even today and there are numerous other scenes just as riveting which Hitchcock tossed off with such ease when his visual imagination was stimulated. Novelist Raymond Chandler got a script credit, but according to Hitchcock biographer Donald Spoto none of Chandler's material was used.

I will be strong.....maybe (fingers crossed)
First I will say this is a classic film that doesn't contain one wasted minute. It's always been one of my favorites and have always shown it to friends as an introduction to these films due to their lack of Hitchcock experience. But what I will say here and now is I WILL NOT BUY THIS SPECIAL EDITION!!! I have the original release and it has served me well these past years. I could have lived my whole life without the knowledge of a special edition with all sorts of those goodies and I would have been fine... It will probably have commentary, interviews, ohh that sounds enchanting...I DON"T CARE. I MUST be strong and resist the temptation of re-buying it. I know I've made this pledge on several hundred occasions with... oh you know, Planet of the apes, Casablanca, Blazing Saddles etc,etc. Yes I caved on those countless occasions but NOT THIS TIME!! But for anyone who doesn't own this dvd at all, I would recommend you do. But don't talk to me about it because I'm perfectly happy with my one disc copy OK!! Warner brothers among others have been pulling these scams for years with these re-issues, and you know who the victoms are. Yes... Yes.. that would be me. But not this time because my family have received enough free bare bones dvd's from me and it ends today. Forget it Amazon! No preorders from this sucker... HA HA!! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Absolutely one of the most hilarious movies ever made, this classic farce featuring the outrageous genius of the Marx Brothers is a chance to see some of their best bits woven together seamlessly in a story of high society, matchmaking, and chaos. In order to bring two young lovers together, brothers Groucho, Chico, and Harpo must sabotage an opera performance even as they try to pass themselves off as stuffed shirts. Featuring the classic sequence where Groucho piles as many people as possible into a ship's stateroom, A Night at the Opera is a deliciously zany romp worth watching again and again. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (40)

The 2nd Best Marx after Duck Soup
Night at the Opera is different from their first 5 - in a nutshell, as everyone else had commented, there's no Zeppo, more music, Margaret Dumont is back, bigger role for romantic leads, and the comedy is somewhat more disciplined, i.e., the antics are perhaps less spontaneous than earlier films.

I understand criticisms leveled by those who prefer to skip the plot, musical numbers, and romantic plot development, but I wholeheartedly disagree that the movie is somehow lesser because of it, particularly the music. The brothers were an extemely musically talented trio, and throughout their lives saw themselved less as a Comedy show and more a variety show. To disregard the musical numbers as "filler" is to show a lack of appreciation for a performing art they held in very high regard.

I have always felt The Marx Bros. were more "in Character" here than in most of their other films (Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Animal Crackers, are also good in this regard, as is Day at the races, to a lesser degree). Everything from the contract swindle ("the party of the first part...") to the organized fooling of sgt. Henderson ("now there are four beds - I know I'm crazy!") to the stateroom bit ("Is my Aunt Minnie in here?") to the methodically brilliant destruction of Il Trovatore in the finale are examples of great writing that suited the personalities of the brothers.

Duck Soup or Horse Feathers may be their funniest films, and Animal Crackers may be more memorable for it's classic scenes, but Night at the Opera in my opinion is the most well-balanced of all thier movies. I feel it's the best-written, best-produced, has the best plot, and contains BY FAR the best acting among suporting roles. If Duck Soup weren't so well-paced and funny, Night at the Opera would be my favorite.

The Marx Brothers at their very, very, best. Classic Comedy
On the one hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" is the greatest Marx Brothers comedy because their peculiar brand of lunacy works better when given a real world target such as Opera than in the fantasy land of Freedonia in "Duck Soup." On the other hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" has more funny stuff in it than "Duck Soup." I do not even want to begin to get into any consideration of what difference the retirement of Zeppo meant in all this. I just want to laugh my head off.

Groucho is Otis P. Driftwood, too busy trying to fleece Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) to waste time running an Opera Company. Harpo is Tomasso, the much abused valet to the pompous tenor Rudolpho Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), while Chico is Fiorello, self-appointed agent for the unknown but talent young singer Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), who is in love with Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle). When Groucho loses his job to stuffed shirt Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), it is up to the Marx Brothers to restore order and sanity to the universe.

In terms of classic comic routines "A Night at the Opera" gives you (1) the Stateroom scene with all those people (and don't forget the hardboiled eggs); (2) Groucho and Chico discussing the clauses in a contract (including the Sanity Clause); (3) Chico and Harpo working "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" into the overture of the opera (get your peanuts); (4) a dinner date between Groucho and Margaret Dumont (looking at him is the price you have to pay); and (5) Chico the Russian aviator explaining how they flew across the Atlantic Ocean in a boat (always remember to take enough gas or else you will have to turn back). There are more-you now Chico plays the piano, Harpo plays the harp, and Groucho deflates a pompous windbag at some point--but I want to talk about other things now.

I think the person who really helps sell this film is Kitty Carlisle. In every Marx brother movie there are the boys, there is Margaret Dumont as the foil, and then there are the young boy and girl who sing their way into your hearts. Carlisle and Jones (the only boy singer to appear in more than one Marx Brothers movie) are clearly the best pair to ever take on these thankless roles. The boys clearly like her and take her seriously, which she does in return, giving "A Night at the Opera" a sense of heart. This does not happen in Marx Brothers movies (compare it to the campy efforts of the young lovers in "Animal Crackers"). On top of all this, Carlisle and Jones can sing and their duet from the end of Il Travatore is much better than all the sappy songs that the lovers usually sing in these films.

"A Night at the Opera" is directed by Sam Wood (who would later spend some time directing scenes on that "Gone With the Wind" film you hear so much about). James Kevin McGuineess receives story credit but the key thing is that George S. Kaufman had a major hand in the script (until it ended up in the hands of the actors of course).

Notes: Look for the father of the Marx brothers on the pier when the ship sets sail and please remember that it Leonard's stage name is pronounced "Chick-o" not "Chico." Put an end to this Marxist reinterpretation nonsense.

The beginning of the decline
Many think this film the best or one of the best the Brothers Marx ever did. It's probably a matter of taste (well, it's certainly a matter of taste), but I think the first MGM comedy by the Marx Brothers is scattershot. Groucho, Chico and Harpo are in top form, and when they're on -- and allowed to dominate a scene -- the film is terrific. The stateroom scene is still funny after 70 years, and the finale at the opera is Marxist anarchy at its finest.

But when they're off screen (at least a third of the movie), you're left with an embarrassing melodrama I'm sure the movegoing audiences of 1935 found as sappy as I did. Bad enough the young Italian lovers sound like they're from New England section of Italy; worse are the musical interludes, which bring the film to a halt and destroy any comedic momentum the Marxes have created. A scene where Chico, Harpo and Jones show off their musical prowess goes on far too long and completely stops the film. Their earlier comedies had musical interludes, but they were woven into the films better. The opening number in Duck Soup, for example, is a lengthy set-up to the first joke; ditto the "We're Going to War" number. When the young lovers in A Night at the Opera sing "Alone," there's nothing but the youngsters staring moonily at each other. Their voices are fine, but the studios of the time were never short of movies with beautiful youngsters singing to each other. It's unnecessary here, and it reminds you the Marx Brothers aren't on screen.

"A Night at the Opera" was the Marxes' most successful comedy at the box office, and probably the most popular film they ever did. But time has been kinder to their earlier Paramount productions. Those films are stagebound, but they have a madcap energy the MGM films never recovered.

If you're a real fan of the Marx Brothers, you've probably already seen this; the rest of you should start with Duck Soup or Horse Feathers. A Night at the Opera was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end for this legendary team.

"No need of you reading that, because these are duplicates."
Many have argued that A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is the Marx Brother's finest film, pointing out that it combined the best of the Brother's comedy with the biggest and boldest in MGM production values. Personally, while I really like the film, I wouldn't quite put it in the top slot. Any of the sequences containing the Marx Brothers themselves are gold, but I find that I'm not as enamored with the romantic subplot and singing as other reviewers have been (notably Leonard Maltin in this DVD's commentary). Still, arguing about which one of the fine films is actually the best is a little pointless. This is a great movie, regardless with how it compares to the others.

The biggest thing this film has going for it (outside of the wonderful Marx Brothers themselves, of course) is the big production values that MGM splashed out on. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's nice to have some great big sets for the Brothers to clown around in (Harpo's stunt double swinging through the rafters is great), but all things considered, I think I prefer the tongue-in-cheek send-up of the big dance numbers (as done in DUCK SOUP) to the production dances which are played straight here.

Margaret Dumont is underused, which is a shame since her dignified outrage usually accounted for big laughs. She gets a good scene at the beginning, and a handful of opportunities to look indignant later in the film, but she isn't the constant presence that she had been in other films.

Still, while I can pick out a few flaws here and there, this is overall a hilarious and fun movie. Much of what is considered classic Marx Brothers material is from this film: the too-many-people-in-the-stateroom scene, the Marxian deconstruction of a legal contract (if anyone thinks that "'The party of the first part' shall be known in this contract as 'the party of the first part'" isn't realistic, then I can show you fine print I've received from credit card companies that are even more tautological than that), and, of course, the grand finale wherein the three brothers completely destroy an opera-in-progress.

The DVD also contains an all-new documentary, which features (among other people) co-star Kitty Carlisle, who is amazingly sharp for being in her 90s, and Dom DeLuise, who talks a lot about food and appears to have been interviewed in the middle of making breakfast (no, I'm not sure why he's here). This is mostly a talking heads interview documentary and there's not a whole lot of brand new material or trivia, but it is nice to see some differing perspectives on things. The story of how Groucho got his name contradicts the anecdote given on the commentary track, and Carlisle refutes the conventional wisdom that states that Margaret Dumont didn't get any of the jokes Groucho was bouncing off her.

A short except from a 1961 broadcast of "The Hy Gardner Show" (who?) reveals Groucho recounting the story of he and his brothers stripping naked and roasting potatoes in the office of Irving Thalberg after the famed producer kept them waiting once too long. I trust you will enjoy the anecdote, because it's told a whopping three times during the course of these DVD extras. Shockingly, none of the tellings blatantly contradict each other.

Two shorts have been included as extras, though I'm not sure I understand their relevance. Robert Benchley's HOW TO SLEEP won the Academy Award in 1935 for Best Short Subject/Comedy, and it's certainly entertaining enough. As for the other short, SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE TROCADERO, well, I'm baffled. I can't make heads or tails of it. Set in a nightclub, a Hollywood talent scout is visiting this ritzy affair. Numerous song and dance people are attempting auditions, while the club's doorman is trying to impress by doing very bad celebrity impersonations (it didn't help that half the time I didn't recognize the name of the person he was impersonating or the name of the person people actually thought he was doing). Cameos by stars of the day abound by having the camera cut to different tables and a voice over shouting, "Hey, look! It's Bob Has-been!" (or whoever). It isn't helped by the fact that most of the careers of these minor celebrities ended soon after the shoot, so for me I was watching cattle call of anonymous hotshots. I couldn't figure out why these people were appearing as themselves. Was the audience supposed to believe that these people really hang out at this fictional locale? Groucho Marx (out of character and costume) has a three-second cameo where he looks as confused as I felt.

I'm wary of commentaries performed by people who weren't actually born when the film they're talking about was made, but Leonard Maltin does a fine job here. He relates a lot of anecdotes about the Marx Brothers, points out how the script is layering the subplots, and relates a lot of trivia that I had never heard before (for example, the only surviving print is actually an edited version made during WWII when all references to Italy have been removed, which explains why the film bizarrely never tells you were the first scenes are set). He even gets into the fun, shouting "What a twit!" when the evil opera singer refuses to sing on the cruise-liner for free.

Although the DVD of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is included in "The Marx Brothers Collection" box set, it is also available for individual sale. Although I slightly prefer A DAY AT THE RACES (also out on DVD now), I couldn't recommend anyone not pick up this film. For Marx novices, there's a great movie. For Marx aficionados, there's informational material that may be enjoyed. In any event, the powers that be have given a great film an excellent treatment on the DVD format.

Tiresome
Almost everything I write about stuff for Amazon gets either ignored or negative responses. I hardly expect this to fare any better. My original intent was to buy the 7 disc set of the Marx Bros (also just released), I grew faint-hearted near the deadline and canceled it and ordered the only 3 I wanted: Opera, Races and Casablanca. I think the first 5 "lost" Marx Bros movies (I have them on DVD and treasure them, all but Duck Soup, with a screenplay by one of their song-writing teams) are (so far) their funniest. Chaos, pandemonium, idiosyncrasies, personality. Either I was despondent when I watched this flick or else the Marx Bros' antics had worn thin for me. (I remember loving all their movies 30 years ago.) I was bored, saw what was supposed to be funny and didn't think it was. There were a few witty remarks, but those came from either Kaufman or Ryskind, not the Marx Bros. And on that subject, I never (at least not before The Solid Gold Cadillac) thought I'd ever watch or read a Kaufman play and not think it was hilarious. I did not think this was hilarious. The opera they featured at the end was Verdi's Il Trovatore, I don't like that opera anyway, particularly the mezzo gypsy song, particularly all of it. I thought the whole movie was watery, thin, dull and not the best of the Marxes, and not particularly funny. I just opened Casablanca. Tomorrow morning I'll take a crack at it, though I remember much of it now. I remember (and make the connection between that movie and this) that Harpo had gone from being an innocent who chases girls to a character who gets knocked around a lot by the heavies. I don't like the change. The characters, the (well, I said it already) idiosyncrasies and personalities of the brothers just weren't there in this movie. Sigh. I have 2 more to go. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hollywood's ability to conjure up a bittersweet small town (on the studio back lot, to be sure) has rarely been on better display than in Alice Adams, a gentle adaptation of a Booth Tarkington novel. For that matter, Katharine Hepburn rarely had a better chance to radiate her early youthful glow. She plays the title character, a lonely misfit who tries--too hard--to fit in with the snooty debutantes in her class-conscious town. Fred MacMurray is the suitor who miraculously feels comfortable in the front-porch swing of the faded Adams home. In the exquisitely timed comedy of MacMurray's miserable dinner with Alice's family, director George Stevens displays the tools he learned directing Laurel and Hardy two-reelers, and the sequence becomes a funny-painful classic of social embarrassment. Hepburn's performance, whether Alice is chattering pretentiously or briefly lowering her guard and revealing her loneliness, is simply incandescent. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Katherine Hepburn in one of her best roles!!!
For those of us who yearned to be part of the "in crowd" in high school but never were, "Alice Adams" is a vivid reminder of that experience (1930's style). As Alice, Katherine Hepburn is the perfect example of the nobody who desperately tries to enter into a world where she clearly doesn't belong. The popular guy played by a very young and handsome Fred MacMurray falls in love with her, but by then Alice is so caught up in her own web of lies about her non-existent wealth that she loses her sense of identity and can't be honest with herself let alone with MacMurray. The story is sweet and romantic, but the main plot surrounds Alice Adams and her experiences as a nobody trying to make it in. You don't need to read the book (by Booth Tarkington) to understand and sympathize with Alice Adams's character, but I highly recommend reading the book first if you really want to appreciate Katherine Hepburn's superb performance. The Alice Adams I envisioned while reading the book was flawlessly brought to life by the very talented Ms. Hepburn.

One of Katherine Hepburn's Greatest Roles!
For those of us who yearned to be part of the "in crowd" in high school but never were, "Alice Adams" is a vivid reminder of that experience (1930's style). As Alice, Katherine Hepburn is the perfect example of the nobody who desperately tries to enter into a world where she clearly doesn't belong. The popular guy played by a very young and handsome Fred MacMurray falls in love with her, but by then Alice is so caught up in her own web of lies about her non-existent wealth that she loses her sense of identity and can't be honest with herself let alone with MacMurray. The story is sweet and romantic but the main plot focuses on Alice Adams and her experience as a nobody trying to make it in. You don't need to read the book (by Booth Tarkington) to understand and sympathize with Alice Adams' character, but I highly recommend reading the book first if you really want to appreciate Katherine Hepburn's superb performance. The Alice Adams I envisioned while reading the book was flawlessly brought to life by the very talented Ms. Hepburn.

A fine, classic melodrama
Katherine Hepburn shines in a heartrending (and hanky-twisting) role, as Alice Adams, a romantically minded teenage girl whose social prospects are continually dimmed by her lower-middleclass status in a small, gossip-laden town. She is painfully aware of her position and tries to overcompensate by putting on airs and latching onto the haughty local debutantes, who look down their noses at the poor girl who tries too hard to fit in. Enter into this miserable scenario good ole Fred Macmurray, a handsome young rich guy who's got a decent heart, and who falls for the voluble, nervous young Miss Adams. Adapted from a novel by Booth Tarkington, this film gives a glimpse into the old-fashioned mores and courtship rituals of smalltown America in the early 20th Century, and also provides Hepburn with one of her first choice roles. Her fast-talking, palpably forlorn Adams is a character who evokes both irritation and sympathy, perfectly capturing the awkward desperation of teenage longings. Quite a performance!

THE SHINE OF A VERY YOUNG KATHARINE HEPBURN FILLS THE SCREEN
"Alice Adams" is one of those movies that rarely are made in Hollywood in these days, because the whole movie is carried by the performances and the direction. "Alice Adams" is a very honest and simple movie, its only pretension is to entertain the viewers, and this movie does that.

In "Alice Adams" we can see a very young and charming Katharine Hepburn, she plays the role of Alice, she injected to the character freshness, sympathy and an aura of tenderness and innocence that rarely are seen in these days.

"Alice Adams" is a very amusing movie, specially if you are fan of the great Katharine Hepburn.

Dinner! A/C!
The whole dinner sequence is excruciatingly funny, and Hattie McDaniel shows that she was a lot funnier--some wonderful takes here--than "Mammie" ever thought about being. The film is a deft satire of small-town life, and Hepburn is adorable--in a wondefully painful way. The subplots are fairly predictable--the usual novel stuff--but the movie survives on Hepburn's performance. This is a movie that will make you squirm and laugh at the same time. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Tough, gritty Barbara Stanwyck is at home on the range
Diverting western about cattle stampeding and land-grabbing in Montana where a local land owner is in cahoots with renegade Blackfeet Indians to kill and drive off white settlers who want to build homes and raise cattle and who pays off the hostiles with rifles and whiskey. Barbara Stanwyck is a tough-as-nails Texas woman who aims to take her rightful place where she and her father filed a legal land claim but are thwarted at every turn by greedy rancher McCord. Colorados, a college-educated Indian who wants peace and prosperity for the Blackfeet, gives aid and comfort to Sierra Nevada Jones after her cattle have been run off, incurring the wrath of a warlike sub-chief of a band of hostile Blackfeet. A lovely Indian maiden, jealous of the attentions paid to the red-haired white woman by Colorados, leads Sierra and Colorados into an ambush which backfires and ends with loyal Blackfeet battling against their hostile tribesmen and McCord's bunch of malcontents. Ronald Reagan appears as a government troubleshooter sent to find out how the Blackfeet are getting repeating rifles. Lance Fuller is smooth as the eloquent, learned Colorados, and Anthony Caruso is very good as a fierce warrior intent on driving all whites out of Blackfeet country.

Classic, well done RKO Western
Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan give fine performances in this colorful little western. Directed by Allan Dwan and produced by Benedict Bogeaus, Cattle Queen of Montana, is well produced, colorful, and entertaining throughout. Lots of action, great photographer, and a great story make for the kind of thrills that Western fans appreciate. Louis Forbes, who also did the musical score for the Dwan/Borgeaus collaboration Silver Lode, also composed the fine score for this one.
The VCI DVD issue is clean and sharp, colorful, and well-done, with extras that add to our enjoyment. We owe VCI a debt of thanks for rescuing this film, and others suchs as TENNESSEE'S PARTNER, SILVER LODE, THE YOUNG LAND, and PASSION (all from the 1950s), which they have made available [see listing for them].
Highly recommended to fans of Westerns and those who enjoy 1950s cinema. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Because it's been little seen, and because people tend to shrug offcontemporaneous World War II films as "propaganda," Hangmen Also Diehas neverreceived its due.It's a brilliant, riveting movie, made in response to theatrocities committed against the Czech people following the assassination ofReichsprotektor Heydrich, Hitler's personal "hangman." Under Fritz Lang'sferociously stylized direction, the duel of wits between the Nazi occupiers and the Prague underground--"a ghost army sworn to haunt them till theirblood runs cold"--becomes the stuff of legend: virtually another installmentof Die Nibelungen, and a dynamic variation on the urban phantasmagoria of theMabuse films and Spione and M.

There is propaganda--but when the blood-curdling rhetoric comes from BertoltBrecht, no less, in his only movie script for an American producer, who's tocomplain?Lang was Brecht's full collaborator, however, and the narrative isa steel trap closing on everyone.Every act of charity may potentially dooman entire family, and the resistance fighters--especially Brian Donlevy'sdoctor-assassin--agonize over their culpability in jeopardizing hundreds of innocents taken hostage in reprisal for Heydrich's shooting.Themoral-ethical duality extends to the casting, and our response to it.Apartfrom Walter Brennan, astonishingly "Brechtian" as a Czech professor ofhistory, the "good guys" are ho-hum Central Casting types while theNazis--evil incarnate--are juicily portrayed by a passel of German-Jewishémigrés (Alexander Granach, Reinhold Schünzel, Ludwig Donath,et al.), allsavoring the opportunity to skewer their own oppressors and to act up aGerman Expressionist storm in their Hollywood exile. Superbly photographedby James Wong Howe. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond - how can it miss?
But it does. Vera Ralson is part of the problem, she's pretty but bland in the role of Wayne's new bride who sweet-talks him in going to the title state so they can run a riverboat business, but the real weakness is the overall look of the film. An overabundance of rear projection and rather obvious indoor/outdoor scenes gives this 'outer' a distint fake feeling. Duke is amicable in the lead, Bond makes a sturdy villian, Brennan is fine doing his Gabby Hayes impersonation and the film has a rousing climax, but it never rises beyond it's B origins

Not up to potential
Dakota is a film loaded with potential that never really comes together. Big names like Walter Brennan (Rio Bravo, Red River) and Ward Bond (The Searchers) join John Wayne in an interesting plot. The problem lies with the directing and screenwriting. At times the screenwriter confuses confusion with action. During the finale you can see what looks like the same wagon tipping over three times (different angles/reversing film). At times it is difficult to understand what the characters are saying, and why things are happening. Die hard Wayne fans will want to buy this film, but many will probably give it a pass. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Railroad goes West,must fight pre-Civil War Confederates
Railroad moving West,just before the Civil War is beset by problems. Construction boss (Barton MacLane)recieves help from the head office in the form of chief engineer (Sterling Hayden).Hayden quickly goes against the raiders led by "Quantrill"(Reed Hadley and pre-Civil war confederates/ Average Western-B movie. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A sensitive and brilliant film
Jane Wyman deservedly won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Belinda, the deaf-mute who becomes a mother after being raped. It is such a wonderful performance, as Belinda grows in knowledge and life experiences, helped along by Lew Ayres as a kind-hearted doctor who comes to Cape Breton Island after some problems in his own personal life. The two of them grow together, and overcome some severe obstacles before they can find happiness. Charles Bickford as Belinda's father and Agnes Moorhead as Belinda's aunt also give stellar performances.

Ahead of its time in terms of subject matter (treatment of the handicapped and the stigma of rape), this film holds up well after all of these years. One of my long-time favorites, and a true classic.

Silence is Golden
Johnny Belinda must have been a groundbreaking film for its time. The subject matter of the film surprised me for a movie made in the 1940s. Three aspects of the story impressed me. For one thing, the movie clearly demonstrates the way that a deaf-mute person can communicate and that they are not stupid (a "dummy"), as people used to assume. The viewer can learn a lot about sign language, and this must have been new to audiences of the forties. Another fascinating thing is the fairly straightforward handling of the rape and its after effects. There's nothing graphic about it, but the movie doesn't attempt to really skirt around the sensitive subject matter the way older movies used to due to censorship and moral codes. I was also impressed by the realistic depiction of the small town where Belinda lives. Their attitudes and feelings of superiority ring very true. As the central character, Jane Wyman gives a very good performance, communicating Belinda's confusion, fears, and growing maturity without the benefit of words. Lew Ayres is good as the doctor, and Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead give terrific supporting performance (which they usually did) as Belinda's tough but loving father and aunt. Johnny Belinda is an adult, honest, and well-made movie.

An understated, yet magnificent film
I hadn't seen this film in 30 years, but watched it again last evening. I was mesmerized by several aspects of this classic (and ahead of its time) 1948 movie. Jane Wyman won the Oscar in this role where she makes not a single sound, not even in the throes of pregnancy. She is a deaf mute and never speaks, but imbues her character with a poignant tenderness and yearning which is extremely moving. There is no doubt that Wyman is an extremely underrated actress, because the pathos in this performance is moving indeed.

Lew Ayres gives possibly his best performance here. For other reviewers who say he's the weakest part of the movie, I don't agree; perhaps they need to see him in the classic 1930 offering, "All Quiet on the Western Front." In that film, Lew was gorgeous to look at it, but couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. Here, he's vastly improved and deliberately underplays a character who is caring, decent, but essentially stoic and very still. I admit there isn't a lot of chemistry between Wyman and Ayres, but he projects a dignity and decency which shines through.

Agnes Moorehead and Charles Bickford deliver outstanding supporting performances. Their interplay and dialogue is interesting and they contribute to the flowing plot.

Aside from Wyman's stellar performance, the most interesting aspect of the film is that it is not dated in the least. The subjects of rape, an illegitimate baby and pre-marital sex were hardly common themes in movies of that era, and this film handles it with aplomb and class. The weakness of the film is that Belinda is assailed from all sides constantly; her lot in life is hard enough to begin with, but she is thrown one vicious curve after another. But not to worry, all comes out all right in the end.

This movie is worth watching solely for Wyman's outstanding performance. Watch her eyes and how she conveys such beautiful emotion in them. I have renewed respect for Jane Wyman after watching this moving drama.

An All-Time AWESOME Film!
Johnny Belinda has been my absolute FAVORITE film for at least 40 years! Jane Wyman's performance is one not to be missed. Other reviewers on this forum have noted her expressive face, body language, growth; the ground-breaking subject matter (sexual assault and dignity in the face of bigotry); and the outstanding supporting cast. All come together to create a timeless story, told in an amazing performance.

The ONE possible flaw may be with the "Perry Mason-style" theatrics in the courtroom. However, it's so minor as (and so VERY 40's!) that it detracts nothing from this outstanding film.

Jane Wyman's Great Triumph
I hadn't seen "Johnny Belinda" for many years when I took it out of the library a few weeks ago. What a shame I waited so long! Jane Wyman turns in an incredibly appealing performance as the deaf-mute Belinda, daughter of a Cape Breton miller (Charles Bickford) who resents the daughter as his wife died in childbirth. Also on hand is his gruff sister, played by Agnes Moorehead in what I honestly think is the best acting job I've ever seen her do, and I've seen her a lot. Belinda has been long neglected--not even called by her name, but just "dummy"--until the new town doctor happens on the scene and takes an interest in teaching her sign language and how to read lips. The doctor is played by Lew Ayres, and I must admit, he's the weakest part of the picture. I thought he was passionless--he reminded me of Alex Trebek! Well, almost as soon as Belinda blossoms as a result of her newfound ability to communicate her ideas, she is raped by a townsperson and bears the illegitimate namesake of the movie, Johnny. The rest of the movie concerns the stigma her family and she endure as a result of the rape and birth, and some shocking tragedies before Belinda finally is acknowleged to be a person of intelligence and feeling by her whole community.

Jane Wyman does a wonderful job portraying Belinda and imbuing her character with a quiet dignity. Seeing her here makes me curious to see other movies starring her. If you want to see a movie that treats sensitive issues with honesty, I advise you to pick up a copy of "Johnny Belinda" today. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

PRIME TRACY PERFORMANCE.
Father Flanagan takes in abandoned boys between the ages of 12 to 18, regardless of race or creed, and fights to raise money, to feed and teach and mother his friendless charges. Mickey Rooney - bless him - runs the gamut of emotions from the tough, poker-playing gangster kid, through the tear-choked, made over youngster, to the final noble youth who becomes mayor of Boys Town. The film manages - in spite of its embarrassing sentimentality of its closing scenes - to be a consistently interesting and frequently touching movie. A burning desire to help his fellowmen and a belief that there is no such thing as a "bad boy" inspired and assisted the Reverend Edward J. Flanagan to found "Boy's Town". Spencer Tracy's sincere portrayal of the role of the priest Father Flanagan was truly an outstanding performance in his career, it even ranks above his Father Tim in SAN FRANCISCO; Tracy simply IS Father Flanagan! As a footnote, in real life, Tracy donated the Oscar he won for his portrayal as Father Flanagan TO Father Flanagan himself; Tracy had it inscribed thusly: "To Father Edward J. Flanagan, whose great human qualities, kindly simplicity and inspiring courage were strong enough to shine through my humble efforts. S/Spencer Tracy".

great movie
This is a movie that is still good even after all these years. Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney give two of the greatest performances of their career. It should have one best picture for 1938, It was far better than "You cant take it with you". "Boys Town" is one of the best fims of all time.

Good Movie
I don't like Spencer Tracey all that much, but he is wonderful in
this movie. Mickey Rooney is excellent too. Very heart warming, good movie to watch around Christmastime.

An inspiration
I had watched this movie on TV a few years ago and was moved especially as it was based on the true story of Fr. Flanagan.
Movies like these uphold human values and dignity and give hope in a world were these values are getting blurred and ambiguous as is reflected in today's 'sensational' hollywood movies most of which promote superflous and artificial lifestyles and senseless action which please the senses but leave a vacuum in the soul. Of course, movies like Men of Honor and Jerry McGuire are an exception. Also it is commendable that there also exist producers like Mel Gibson who has the courage to produce "The Passion" in Aramaic (the language spoken by Christ) though it does not make much commercial sense.
All of this makes me think, is Hollywood reflecting contemporary life or is life reflecting Hollywood.
Wonder why no movie is made on the life of Fr.Maximilian Kolbe who resisted the Nazis in Poland and ultimately sacrificed his life in the Gas Chamber in exchange for another inmate in the Nazi Auchwitz camp in WWII. It could make a real good drama movie.
Hope the DVD that comes out on Boystown will have a special feature on the life and times of Fr. Flanagan.

My Favorite show
Boys town and sequael(Men in Boys Town) are the by far my most favorite films. I watch them on an old VHS copied from TV in Holland in the PAL format. I had to buy a special muti-system TV and VCR just to watch them. I hope when the DVD comes out they will come together as a 2 disk packet. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Railroad goes West,must fight pre-Civil War Confederates
Railroad moving West,just before the Civil War is beset by problems. Construction boss (Barton MacLane)recieves help from the head office in the form of chief engineer (Sterling Hayden).Hayden quickly goes against the raiders led by "Quantrill"(Reed Hadley and pre-Civil war confederates/ Average Western-B movie. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

PRIME TRACY PERFORMANCE.
Father Flanagan takes in abandoned boys between the ages of 12 to 18, regardless of race or creed, and fights to raise money, to feed and teach and mother his friendless charges. Mickey Rooney - bless him - runs the gamut of emotions from the tough, poker-playing gangster kid, through the tear-choked, made over youngster, to the final noble youth who becomes mayor of Boys Town. The film manages - in spite of its embarrassing sentimentality of its closing scenes - to be a consistently interesting and frequently touching movie. A burning desire to help his fellowmen and a belief that there is no such thing as a "bad boy" inspired and assisted the Reverend Edward J. Flanagan to found "Boy's Town". Spencer Tracy's sincere portrayal of the role of the priest Father Flanagan was truly an outstanding performance in his career, it even ranks above his Father Tim in SAN FRANCISCO; Tracy simply IS Father Flanagan! As a footnote, in real life, Tracy donated the Oscar he won for his portrayal as Father Flanagan TO Father Flanagan himself; Tracy had it inscribed thusly: "To Father Edward J. Flanagan, whose great human qualities, kindly simplicity and inspiring courage were strong enough to shine through my humble efforts. S/Spencer Tracy".

great movie
This is a movie that is still good even after all these years. Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney give two of the greatest performances of their career. It should have one best picture for 1938, It was far better than "You cant take it with you". "Boys Town" is one of the best fims of all time.

Good Movie
I don't like Spencer Tracey all that much, but he is wonderful in
this movie. Mickey Rooney is excellent too. Very heart warming, good movie to watch around Christmastime.

An inspiration
I had watched this movie on TV a few years ago and was moved especially as it was based on the true story of Fr. Flanagan.
Movies like these uphold human values and dignity and give hope in a world were these values are getting blurred and ambiguous as is reflected in today's 'sensational' hollywood movies most of which promote superflous and artificial lifestyles and senseless action which please the senses but leave a vacuum in the soul. Of course, movies like Men of Honor and Jerry McGuire are an exception. Also it is commendable that there also exist producers like Mel Gibson who has the courage to produce "The Passion" in Aramaic (the language spoken by Christ) though it does not make much commercial sense.
All of this makes me think, is Hollywood reflecting contemporary life or is life reflecting Hollywood.
Wonder why no movie is made on the life of Fr.Maximilian Kolbe who resisted the Nazis in Poland and ultimately sacrificed his life in the Gas Chamber in exchange for another inmate in the Nazi Auchwitz camp in WWII. It could make a real good drama movie.
Hope the DVD that comes out on Boystown will have a special feature on the life and times of Fr. Flanagan.

My Favorite show
Boys town and sequael(Men in Boys Town) are the by far my most favorite films. I watch them on an old VHS copied from TV in Holland in the PAL format. I had to buy a special muti-system TV and VCR just to watch them. I hope when the DVD comes out they will come together as a 2 disk packet. ... Read more