Reviews (39)

So Many Favourites In One Film!!
Henry Fonda stars in one of his most famous roles as Mr. Roberts, an officer on board a cargo ship, a man who underestimates his importance and the respect he is shown by an appreciative crew. The reason they admire him so much is because he stands up to their dictatorial captain, played ferociously by James Cagney. Fonda brings a lot of dignity and quiet strength to his character. The great William Powell is Fonda's confidant and ship's doctor, and Powell plays him with wisdom and class. Jack Lemmon, as Ensign Pulver, gets many of the film's best laughs, as he broadly plays the officer who is a lot of talk, but not much action. Mister Roberts combines humour, honesty, and drama very well, giving the viewer a real sense of the camaraderie onboard the ship. We also see how the human spirit can triumph under difficult conditions. And it's also a great chance to see four of Hollywood's greatest actors in one film, each one showing what they did so well. This is one to watch.

Thank you, Mr. Roberts
When Henry Fonda received the Kennedy Center honors in the late 70's, as part of his tribute, the Naval Academy glee club sang. Red River Valley saluted Grapes of Wrath, but the highlight was Anchors Away, when the Midshipman director of the glee club turned about face, saluted and said "Thank you, Mr. Roberts." As each Middie left the stage, he saluted and former Lt (jg) Fonda returned each one. Mr. Fonda was reported to have said that that was the greatest honor he received in a truly distinguished career.

This movie has that impact--it is a salute to "all those brave men who sailed from Apathy to Tedium, with an occasional side trip to Monotony" (I hope I have this right). When he died, the network news tribute was a dark screen and the sound track as Dolan and the others, having learned just what Mr. Roberts had done for them, each repeated those magic words "Good night, Mr. Roberts."

This is my favorite movie, one which I have watched at least 100 times. With marvelous performances by William Powell (Doc), James Cagney (the Captain), and Jack Lemmon (Ensign Pulver), as well as a fine supporting cast, this is a "must have" selection.

Review is of DVD - Not the movie
Given the "classic" status of this movie, it seems meaningless to discuss the content for this review. Thus, I will stick to reviewing Warner Brothers DVD release of the film.

First, I commend them for the inclusion of the excerpt of an Ed Sullivan "Toast of the Town" (1948) tribute episode featuring the movie's stars. This was really interesting viewing.

However, for the movie itself....this is the worst Warner release I have seen since "National Velvet". The picture frequently becomes out of focus, and the picture is often very undefined throughout the whole movie. There are a couple of places in the movie where the picture jumps, as if the film from which the transfer was taken "skipped a sprocket".

Overall, this is an embarassing release of a classic movie....despite the great extras which are included. Warner needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.

I love this movie!
The film "Mister Roberts" has everything.

Great Story, great cast, great meaning. If I had my choice of only a dozen movies to recommend to anyone, this would be one of them.

After fifty years, it's still an inspiring story of how sometimes small, seemingly insignificant details and the consideration of the human factor contribute to effective leadership.

In fact, this film is still in use as a motivational tool in the U.S. Naval Services.

I highly recommend this movie.

One of my favorite movies
I loved this movie when I saw it many years ago, it's timeless and still funny after all these years. I'm so glad it's available on DVD and now part of my movie collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

John Ford pours on the sentiment like syrup in The Long GrayLine, a tribute to the traditions of West Point. Tyrone Power ages50 years to play real-life West Point legend Martin Maher, the scrappyIrish immigrant who rises from "another Mick waiter" to hot-temperedcadet to one of the best-loved instructors of the institution. Power isat his best as the charming rogue with a thick brogue, who ages into afeisty, gray-haired foster father to the cadets he and his fiery Irishwife (Maureen O'Hara) adopt over the years, among them Harry Carey Jr.(as young Dwight D. Eisenhower). Ford claims he didn't care forCinemaScope, but you wouldn't know it from the handsome, lush imagesthat fill the frame. It lolls along at a lazy 140 minutes, balancingthe respectful tributes with boisterous humor and boyish pranks butalways centered by the generous heart of Maher. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Inspiring and well-made
Highly enjoyable tale of the life of Marty Maher, the Irish immigrant who rose from humble waiter to become West Point's beloved athletic trainer and football coach for more than 50 years. Despite personal tragedies, and through two World Wars, Maher inspired generations of young men who came through the distinguished Army officers' academy, including future legends like Omar Bradley and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Tyrone Power is excellent and compelling as he portrays Maher from young idealist to elderly sage, Irish accent intact all the way. The scenery and West Point pageantry is fun to watch (although some of it looks like it was filmed inside a studio -- but much else looks like it may have been filmed at the Military Academy). Interestingly, there's not really all that much football in this film -- there's a little, but it's mainly the story of Maher and his family, and the young men he came to love like his own sons. With the flame-haired Maureen O'Hara as Maher's Irish wife Mary, giving a radiant performance. Sentimental in that '50s way, of course, but the legendary director John Ford (working with a cast made up of many of his favorites) always puts a bite behind the sweetness.

Long Gray Line
My wife and I stumbled across this rare gem a few days ago on AMC. It began late in the evening, but we were unable to stop watching. It is a truly wonderful story, based on what I've come to learn is a book entitled BRINGING UP THE BRASS that was based on Technical Sargeant Martin Maher's life. The movie has all of the classical elements of John Ford including humor and poignancy, and I shall heartily recommend this film to my family and friends. It's nice to see patriotism and honor on film, even though it was 45 years ago!

Dulce et Decorum...?
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" -- "Proper and sweet it is to die for the Fatherland." These words from Vergil's "Aeneid" apply in spades to "The Long Grey Line." Beneath the film's overt message of patriotism, honour and glory lies one constant, recurring theme: It's a good, grand and glorious thing for young men to be so filled with dreams of militaristic "glory and honour" that they are ready to die for "The Reich." And it's a good, grand and glorious thing as well for the loved ones they leave behind in mourning.

Am I being a touch judgemental? Darn right. So why did I give it four stars? First, any film with Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Ward Bond and the score of other fine actors (and an actress or two) is already worth at least three stars in my book. Secondly, the film is so over-the-top in its melodramatic depiction of "fantasy patriotism" that I wonder whether its creators didn't mean to suggest the folly of militaristic utopianism through the expedient use of a near lethal overdose of hyper-pious hands-over-hearts whenever Old Glory passes by, the ultra-dramatic portrayals that "my tragic loss is really my strength and glory," and the continuous flag-waving, death-worshipping and militaristic sentimentalising that saturates this film from start to finish.

On the one hand, the war-sentimentalisers who have always sent and who continue to send young men to early graves for the sake of political and/or corporate interests will undoubtedly see this film in one light. One that appears to validate their own far-from-honourable interests and agendas. On the other, those who despise the fantasy of militaristic glory may well see a brilliant portrayal of the waste of young lives, a waste that brings the hero of the film to sanctimoniously mark the deaths of his former youthful cadets with a black ribbon in the appropriate yearbook. In either case, the message will be in the eye -- and prompted by the true nature of the heart and soul -- of the viewer.

Whatever the case, I recommend that any viewer of this classic film follow up with a sobering shot of "Taps." And that in viewing that rather different presentation of military school cadets special attention be paid to the professional soldier who accuses his own honour-enraptured cadet son of being "in love with death."

Super movie no matter who you like
Pay no attention to Pine Hurst reviewer. I like Jane Fonda and I like this movie. Everyone in my family is a Jane Fonda fan (including my father who was 20years in the Marines), and we all like the film. It's story telling at it's best. One of Tyrone Power's best performances and Maureen O'Hara is simply radiant. It made me want to know more about Martin Maher and his Mary. See this, and you won't be disappointed.

BEST FORD WITHOUT WAYNE
I first saw this movie at our local in the late 50`s here in the U.K. The Memory of Marty Maher never left.. Looking through Amazon one evening i noticed it was available. Well done it arrived in 6 days. Some things you order locally take longer than that.After all these years since i last saw it it`s still a great movie and still brings a tear to the eye. Tyrone Power was perfect, sadly nearing the end of his life as Marty Maher. Nothing against John Wayne who i understand was the first choice but this was`nt his part. Maureen o Hara is wonderful. Ward Bond as "That blackhearted master of the sword" as Marty calls him and Donald Crisp as Marty snr. Its a long movie covering 50 years but never you loose interest. Its perfect. John Ford wanted to be remembered as the man who made westerns. Well he made other great movie`s as well. In my opinion this is an equal to The Quiet Man....The Long Gray Line. The best Ford without John Wayne. ... Read more

Reviews (359)

The Original Slasher Opus!
Camp Crystal Lake, 1957. A mysterious figure hacks up two love-bonding teenagers, kicking off a great, entertaining credits sequence with Harry Manfredini's great score!
Opening to 1980, a teenager is on her way to Camp Crystal Lake,
to meet up with other camp counselors who are putting the camp back up for the summer. She is warned by the town's people, but ignores their warnings. Ofcourse, being the original film in the Friday The 13th horror movie series, she makes a deadly mistake, picking up a ride from a mysterious figure in a jeep.

Meanwhile back at camp, the head, Steve Christy, leaves the young counselors to clean up as he goes to town. As night comes, a storm comes and so does Mrs. Voorhees hacking her way threw this horror venture, featuring special effects by Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead).

This original flick in the great franchise has so far, spawned nine sequels, including the groovily fun Jason X! Ofcourse all these horror greats are fun! Some good gore abound in this flick, including a slit throat, arrow threw the neck, axe to the face and more! The sequels got even better, more [gore] scenes and ofcourse, Jason would take the axe over in Part 2!

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!

Friday the 13th (1980).
Written and directed by Sean S Cunningham, Starring Kevin Bacon...Make-up: Tom Savini. This early trendsetter spawned 8 sequels and set a new type of standard in the slacher genre. This bloody tale is about some youngsters camping around the area of Christal Lake. But what they don't know is that the camp has a curse, namely Jason's curse. Jason is(that most of us know) a young kid that drowned back in the 50's wile the dreadful teenagers made love. Now he is back for revenge, or is it his mother?

What more can I say then that this movie is amazing. Sean S Cunningham takes the genre one more step further then Halloween and adds a simple revenge story but whit a great touch of atmosphere and loads of gore. Fx guru Tom Savini gives us some truly terrifying death scenes (who can ever forget Kevin Bacons harpoon trough the chest scene) that really deliver entertainment to us dark souls. The Psycho inspired music and the dark settings give Friday the 13th a creepy stile. This is a historic flick in horror history that any serious fan of the genre should add in there horror collection. Many people underrate this kinds of films. I suggest you don't. Those people are boring moralists that are all to small minded. This flick deserves to be a classic as much as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs.

Earn your self to see this blockbuster. You will have a lot of fun seeing it (trust me). Remember this was one of those movies that started the hole area of 80's horror.

Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible.

The best Friday ...
Though I enjoy Jason Voorhees a lot, this is the best Friday the 13th. For the most part, this movie actually didn't have that bad of acting, as did the sequels. It's better because it is the original storyline. The sequels are better in that since Jason is the killer, he has unique and gruesome ways of killing people, and he's much scarier and would be much harder to get away from.
This movie has everything that a horror movie should have. There is no way someone can go through their life claiming to be a huge horror fan and have no seen this movie INCLUDING the sequels. If you like teenage horror with plenty of killings, get this. A good movie to start off your horror collection.

Don't listen to the critics!
"Friday the 13th" is a typical slasher from the early 80's, only it's better than most. Despite critics, like Roger Ebert and Lenorn Maltin giving it ridicuosly low ratings, it really isn't as bad as they claim. In fact, the scripting, at least, is every bit as good as that of "Halloween"'s, only it isn't as well made and certainly not as original. Almost everyone knows the plot-line, even those who have never seen it, so I won't bother on outlining it. And if you are familiar with it, then you know what just about every "Friday the 13th" is about.

The Friday the 13th film franchise kicks off with a whimper.
Some things defy explanation, the success of this lame and predictable series is one of them. Perhaps the minimal amount of explicit violence was shocking in 1980, but by today's standards it is tame and would be unscary to even bed wetting pre-teens.
This is a low budget film about a summer camp being finally reopened after a decades old drowning tragedy. Shortly after the arrival of the young camp counselors, the legendary Camp Crystal Lake is rocked by a series of gruesome murders.
This is a pioneering film in the genre of the slasher film and follows the formulaic plot of horny teens retreating to a secluded area to have sex and smoke pot before being killed for their sins by an anonymous killer. If you are a fan of this genre, you have seen this a million times and probably much better than this.
Some of the gratuitous violence and murder in parts I and II could be considered clever and inspired, if it were not essentially plagiarized from an earlier and much better italian film entitled Twitch Of The Death Nerve (now available on DVD) by Mario Bava. The influence that Bava's film had on this crap is blatant, especially in part II.
The cast is uninteresting, even a pre stardom Kevin Bacon puts in a lethargic performance and the film is mostly dull and tedious. One of the most harrowing sequences, the abduction of the female hitchhiker, happens during the first half of the film and its basically all downhill from there.
There is nothing to recommend this even to hardcore gore fans as most of the effects fade to white before you can get a good look at them.
In the end the whole mess seems overlong and boring. With the absence of any character development or significant suspense, this is a very shoddy exercise compared to the immensely successful Halloween which predates this by two years. No wonder this sorry excuse for a series never produced a veritable horror icon like Jamie Lee Curtis.
The DVD is lame also, almost completely devoid of extras. My advice to fans is to save their cash for the upcoming box set, which will be reasonably priced and contain the first eight entries in the series. ... Read more

Reviews (199)

Excellent sequel.
This movie was as good as the first one. Fans get their first look at Jason, who is avenging his mother's death. Jason was misunderstood. This movie is basically like the first one. Another good horror.

"The body count continues."
After a pre-credit sequence that nicely severs itself from the previous film's storyline, Friday the 13th Part 2 jumps forward five years to focus on a new group of victims to be opening a "Counselor Boot Camp" on the accursed Crystal Lake. The raw wounds of the previous debacle are still sore points with the locals, who are leery of a possible new 'Camp Blood', and with good reason. Turns out that Jason Voorhees (whose burlap sack of a mask had 1981 theater audiences giggling and making joking references to David Lynch's then current hit The Elephant Man) did not drown in Crystal Lake like his mother believed, but has been living like an animal in the surrounding woods while waiting for the opportunity to continue enacting his revenge for his mother's murder. As the advertisements promised, 'the body count continues'!

First time director Steve Miner (Lake Placid, Halloween H20) keeps screenwriter Ron Kurz's ultra-flimsy 'story' moving at a gallop. Clocking in at an economical 87 minutes, Friday the 13th Part 2 is the shortest film of the series and a fairly entertaining one. Amy Steel (April Fool's Day, The Powers of Matthew Starr) makes an engaging herione and Stu Charno (Christine) provides, for a change, non-irritating and plot natural comic relief as the camp's merry prankster. Harry Manfredini's now famous score remains a rollicking rollercoaster ride of a horror movie composition. Fans may love it, but non-fans will only find it run-of-the-kill.

F13 PART 2 (BEST SEQUAL)
PART 2 puts all the others sequals to shame!
Good points:
crazy faceless killer living in the woods
creepy atmosphere
extremely bizarre ending
best Friday the 13th actress, Amy Steel, as "Ginny"
return of "Crazy Ralph"
scarriest death scene: Vikki (when Jason hides under covers)!!
creepiest cat & mouse chase (with Ginny)

Of course this movie was nowhere near perfect. Not much information is given to the audience & the ending leaves you hanging. And what's up with the intro? The scene with Alice was unrealistic & rather pointless. Jason couldn't possibly know how to track down his mother's killer.

Too much was cut from this movie as well. In the original script, Mrs Voorhees's eyes were suppose open! That would have opened up doors for the following sequals (then in Part 3 she would return?)

After part 2, the FRIDAY THE 13th plot goes somewhere else.
For instance he looks completely different in part 3 and then again in part 4.

PART 3 was good but strays away from the original storyline (Chris and her stupid encounter with Jason a few years back). I never understood why that story was introduced. oh well

Jason's REAL first appearance is met by a beautiful new DVD!
Everyone knows Part 2 is the first OFFICIAL Jason movie since it was only his mother who was the killer in the first one. Having said that, Part 2 is almost as good as the first, if not a little bit scarier thanks to the direction of Steve Miner. The cast of young characters are like-able and fun, and it works as a nice balance between the threat that is Jason. He's not the hockey masked maniac he would later become, but he's very frightening as a mentally disturbed freak who roams the woods wearing a sheet over his head. The climax is a real show down that would later become the highlight of these movies. This is a classic slasher of the early 80's and the new DVD does it a lot of justice. Although the old VHS tapes were in much better shape than some of the other movies in the series, Part 2 does look much better on DVD. The trailer is a lot like the trailer for the first one, but still nice to have. No other extras of course, but at least we have a nice sharp transfer.

At Least We Get Jason In This
Friday The 13th was a surprise box office hit in 1980, so a sequel was inevitable. While the original film was a rather decent and raw horror film, this sequel begins what is to be the typical in slasher/horror/Friday The 13th sequels. Most of the rawness and vividness of the first film will never be recaptured, and they become the quintessential hack and slash horror sequels. Beginning with this one. The only thing that makes this sequel different from the original is the introduction of Jason. If you remember, his mother was the killer in the original. As far as slasher films go, this one is pleasing. Nothing new. As expected, there really isn't a story here. Did you expect one?. There's a camp. There's some camp councelors. There's some campers. There's a homicidal killer with a fondness for gardening tools and other sharp instruments. Voila!. You got yourself a sequel!. We get a decent lead performance by Amy Steel as Jenny. She's not great, but she does the part good enough. This film is before Jason gets his infamous hockey mask. If you ask me, Jason's sheet he wears in this film with one eye hole(reminiscent of The Elephant Man) is far more scarier than the hockey mask. That's just me. What do you all think?. We are bombarded with more of the same babes in the woods getting knifed, strangled, sliced & diced. There's even a twofer when Jason gets two campers at once. Any guesses as to what they were doing?. It's sure to please any Friday fan and slasher fan. Other than that, why bother?. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Any man's my man if I want it that way." The speaker could only be JoanCrawford, as a wicked man-eater terrorizing her Deep South household in QueenBee. Crawford's the whole show in this campy 1955 melodrama, which aspiresto be second-rate Lillian Hellman but doesn't even reach that level. Havingtrapped a wealthy Southerner (Barry Sullivan) into marriage, Crawford takes hermain pleasure in making life miserable for the other women of the mansion. Thisis fun to watch for a while, but director Ranald MacDougall (he wrote MildredPierce for Crawford) can't get the pace moving, and the final comeuppance isall too predictable. Crawford was going into her final high-diva phase at thispoint in her career, all chalky makeup and yard-long eyebrows, and QueenBee clearly points the way toward What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?Star power prevails, however, and at least the picture summons up its share ofunintentional laughs. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Can you say over-the-top?
Joan is at her delectable best, as she steamrolls her way over the supporting cast, totally stealing every scene with her over-the-top style.
This is one dame who's not going to blend into the scenery. If you are a Crawford fan, and if your reading the reviews of this film, you must be, you simply must add this film to your collection. Joan plays Eva Phillips, a conniving southern socialite, with a taste for the finer things, only matched by her taste for other women's men. Eva's the queen bee, and there's no doubt that she's the one running the hive. Joan delivers some wonderful lines in the film, for instance, "Any man's my man if I want it that way". Joan looks wonderful slinking around in drop dead gowns designed by Jean Louis. Whether she's verbally abusing her alcoholic husband or driving the poor unfortunates who dare cross her to suicide, Joan can do no wrong. Of course in the end, Eva gets what she deserves.
Add this film to your Joan collection, it's really a keeper.

Joan at her bitchy best!
This is a must-have for every Joan Crawford fan. Her star was beginning to fall by this time but she does a bang-up acting job as the evil Eva Phillips. (One wonders if the character was given that name purposely - Eva, evil, get it?) Everyone else in the film, with the exception of John Ireland as the tormented Judson, pales in comparison with Joan.

Certainly, the plot is pure soap opera (but if you know that at the outset and just take it for what it is, you'll find it enjoyable and a nice escape from reality).

Joan is in fine form as the Queen Bee in her little Southern mansion hive, ruling her unhappy family with an iron stinger. Particularly, the targets of Joan's ire are the other women of the mansion, whose men Joan is always determined to steal, as summed up in her classic line, "Any man's my man if I want it that way." And Joan usually succeeds in what she sets out to do. Plus, Joanie excels at emasculating the men of the mansion (such as her long-suffering husband Avery, who withdraws into an ocean of alchohol to escape his misery).

Of course, she eventually gets her comeuppance as punishment for all the unhappiness she's caused (a nice coda that doesn't happen nearly often enough to rotten people in real life).

Long story short, this DVD's very worthwhile. Joan fans get to see her in a superbly over-the-top performance, and it's a feel-good type story because Eva at long last gets exactly what she deserves, and the last laugh is on her. I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say that if you like to see good triumph over evil, you'll be very pleased at how things turn out.

Godzilla in a Jean Louis Gown
Joan Crawford appears to have a field day in this silly, but extraordinarily engrossing, overheated family melodrama. Ranald MacDougall's script is like Tennessee Williams without the poetry or the subtext. And it's like Douglas Sirk without the sumptuous color or the inner turmoil those autumnal hues disguise.

Eva Philips is possessive, controlling, and self-absorbed, and Crawford plays her to the hilt. What more could any fan ask?

A monument of selfishness, Eva fascinates like a cobra about to strike. In one memorable scene, her cousin asks what the doctor said (about Eva's troubled child). "Such extravagant things!" responds Eva. She continues: "Did you see how the doctor trembled as he spoke to me? You'd think he'd never seen a beautiful woman before!"

Moments like these are pure gold (or should it be 'honey'?) in this wondrous opera-without-singing.

The rest of the cast consists of some more than adequate talent: Barry Sullivan (Eva's booze-soaked, trampled husband), John Ireland (a former lover, still caught by her stinger. He gets one of the best lines: "Whatever you are Eva, you're on wheels!"), Betsy Palmer (the deer in Eva's lethal headlights). Lucy Marlow (another deer, that starlet from the opening sequence of A STAR IS BORN, 1954) is passable. (In a TCM documentary, it is revealed that Crawford really slapped the younger actress with all her might.). Fay Wray makes a brief, but noteworthy appearance early on, a past casualty of Eva's rampaging ego.

The DVD is pretty bare-bones. But the transfer is luminous.

If you enjoy watching a 5' Godzilla in a Jean Louis gown, don't miss QUEEN BEE.

Bee with an Itch!!
This is a great movie and as one other reviewer put it, Joan stands there acting furiously in every scene! Believe it or not I have known manipulative, bitchy women exactly like Joan was in this movie and it wasn't pleasant ... was she really playing herself? I think so. Trouble was that there were a lot of women who imitated her. In any case this movie is a great period piece, and I'd also recommend the noir classic Sudden Fear also with Joan Crawford.

Grade A Crawford
In one of her best and boldest. This film is really too amazing to explain. You will awe as Crawford smashes the living room with a riding crop. You will marvel when she slaps the young ecstatic girl across the face. You will be amazed as she easily steps into a bath that has to be at least 200 degrees! You will applaud as she seduces another man while her children lay in bed with the covers over their heads shaking in fear! Beauty bagged himself a real wild one here! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

GOES AGAINST MANNs OWN FORMULA
THE TIN STAR seems to go against Anthony Mann's own formula, not so much for its plot, but in its casting of the principal actor Henry Fonda as the catalyst that motivates young sheriff Anthony Perkins (and the film) to live up to the demands of the position. Fonda's casting and presence as the hero seems to make the role static and less complex when compared to what James Stewart could have brought to the role (Stewart was Mann's usual choice for the leading man in his Westerns). Fonda's character is one of a bounty hunter / ex-sheriff who appears to have no moral ambiguities, thus the apprenticeship of Perkins under Fonda's moral stalwartness brings a very straightforward relationship to these main characters. Visually the film also seems to be limited to the town rather than on the wide unclosed vistas of the open range. This claustrophobic effect seems to repress elements of this otherwise interesting screenplay. However, these are only observed peculiarities to Anthony Mann's usual style. This is still a tightly scripted and enticing Western. The showdown between Perkins and Neville Brand is excellently played out. Elmer Bernstein's early Western score is very absorbing and insightful to the film's narrative. I particularly like Henry Fonda's role and his performance in this film. This is a good Western.

Very good but under-appreciated western.
Henry Fonda was one of the greatest movie actors ever -- sometimes I think that he was THE greatest. Somehow Fonda managed to BE whomever he was playing, with no hint that he was acting, despite the wide variety of roles he played over his long career.

In The Tin Star Fonda is superb as an embittered ex-sheriff turned bounty hunter who scoffs at naive but dedicated Anthony Perkins, the newly-appointed sheriff in a town to which Fonda has come to collect the reward for an outlaw he has killed. While waiting in town for his reward money to arrive, Fonda reluctantly mentors Perkins in the art of being an effective sheriff and staying alive while doing it. There is a subplot involving Fonda's developing relationship with a widow (played by Betsy Palmer) and her half-Indian son. Although there is action in The Tin Star, the movie is primarily about the relationships among the principal characters and how they change each other. This is a very good western -- indeed a very good movie -- in every respect. But Fonda's role makes it outstanding. Please don't pass up this under-appreciated classic now that it's available on DVD.

Tin Star
Anthony Mann's THE TIN STAR was a little disappointing. Mann was an early expert in 'psychological' westerns and I guess this one fits that category. Henry Fonda plays bounty hunter Morg Hickman, a man with a past. Hickman rides into town with a bounty trophy and, this being a fairly civilized town, is shunned by the citizens. Doesn't seem to bother him much, though. While waiting for his bounty money to come through he becomes involved with a local widder and her young 'un and helps set young and clumsy sheriff Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins) on the right track.
THE TIN STAR is a little light and domestic for Mann. A run-of-the-mill story with acceptable acting by all involved.

heavy hard star
You can make easily a tin star by cutting that feeble metal from, for example, a fruit can. To carry it is more difficult. From outside the USA it seems public workers aren't so valued as private entrepreneurs.
But not all people serve to do business privately, and some have to choose public work. One of these tasks is being sheriff in old west. In this movie the figure of the sheriff as a public server is well seen: a man not very capable as I suppose were almost all, elected between the people of a small village, honest but without real skills to impose the law against dangerous bandits: So then, that famous tin star should weigh terribly. In contrast there is the gunman: he's very able with firearms but in this film shooting exhibitions pass to a secondary plane. The personage played by Henry Fonda basically knows his profession in full and furthermore, it remains in a slight dark the feeling that he doesn't value life too much, nor those of his preys nor his own, as he's a bitter, lonely, disillusioned man of and uncertain age with not much to lose. That quality, paradoxically, gives him an advantage in all fights owing to a quiet, indifferent mood the sheriff can't attain as he wants to live and hates troubles. The sheriff must risk against his will; the gunman afford these risks without much worry and all these isn't only a matter of mastery with the revolver. The two protagonists are very well chosen, contrasting the sober Fonda with the disquiet Perkins, but in the film at the end, the two men have changed.

THIS STAR SHINES MORE LIKE GOLD THAN TIN!
Henry Fonda's career was never the same after "The Tin Star." Shedding the every man good guy persona that had made him so likeable on screen for so long, on this occasion Fonda's pretty cold, aloof and forboding as a lawman turned bounty hunter. Director, Anthony Mann's in-depth character study of the old west is made even more compelling by a startling performance from Anthony Perkins, as the too gentle for gunsmoke sheriff, to whom Fonda undertakes a shaping-up of.
THE TRANSFER: The VistaVision black-and-white picture elements are in reasonably good shape. Contrast and black levels are nicely balanced. Age related artifacts are present but do not distract. Digital anomalies are also present, but again, do not distract. The audio is mono but nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: Not on this disc!
BOTTOM LINE: "The Tin Star" is an above average western from a time when westerns were a dime a dozen. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking and well worth a second look on DVD! ... Read more

Reviews (359)

Friday the 13th - the Original
This is the one that started the whole Jason Voorhees-Saga... In this 1st Friday-movie you'll see why Jason will hunt you in the upcoming 9 movies. I've seen and have them all. In this movie you'll see how the crazy mother Pamela Voorhees kills everyone who visits Camp Blood. In the end she gets killed hereself. Then in the next 9 movies here son Jason rises from death and takes his revenge... The visitors keep killing him, but he'll come back again, and again, and again... In 'Jason X', the last Friday, he'll get an upgrade. Get them all on DVD... It's worth it!

Why do critics hate this?
This was great! It had suspense, it had jumps, gore, and cool music. What's not to like? OK. You've bought all this so far, so I'll take it a step further: Although the F13 movies are almost universally loathed, I consider some of them rather good movies. See, I don't judge slasher-horror movies on the same scale as say, Amadeus. I judge a movie on ONE criteria: Does it accomplish what it set out to do? Well, I believe that Friday the 13th does that actually quite well. The sequels? Most of them are guilty pleasures, examples of a tired formula that I still get a kick out of. Are they art? Probably not. Will they entertain fans of gore and nasty killings and breasts and bad acting? Not really. proudly display my 5-star rating for Friday the 13th, because I love the movie. Is it well made? Not really. Is the screenplay or direction particularly impressive? It could be worse. Does it deliver what it promises? Yes, and it's a bloody good time.

Underated!
Do you remember? The lights went out in the cabin. The boy and the girl were freaked out. He wants to go back down to the generator room, but the girl is very nervous. She wants to go with him, because the rest of the people in the camp have seemingly vanished. He tells her not to worry, that he'll be right back, but we notice that when he puts on his rain slicker, he has a rifle. As he walks down to the generator cabin, the camera stalks him, from various angles. The girl wakes up from a dream. Where is he? He should be back by now? She puts on her slicker and walks down the muddy path to the cabin. When she walks in, the door feels strangely heavy. She turns and there he is. Pinned to the door with arrows: in his eyes, his throat, everywhere. After he was dead, or before? She screams... This film is high on suspense and atmosphere and has the power of suggestion, and the scariest part is that you are with the killer, and that is very unerving. It's so much fun to be scared. But that first terror experience is so visceral in it's discovery, it's almost like a sexual experience. "Friday the 13th" was a very scary film because it was the first of its kind - the slasher film. The film is calculating and sexist, yes, but how can you criticize a film that terrorizes you when you're eight? I suspect many a young horror fan, or kid in general, has been deeply scarred by "Friday the 13th." It's great when a horror film damages your brain like that and "Friday the 13th" did that very thing. Watch this alone in the dark!

One of my favourite horror films
Friday The 13th started the term slasher film back when it came out in the summer of 1980.The movie starts out at Camp Crystal Lake in 1958,where the young counselors are having fun,sitting by the fire and singing songs.Two of the couselors go off on their own to have some fun of their own,not knowing they're being watched and soon to be killed.Then we go to the year 1980,a new owner(or old one)and several young counselors are trying to get the camp ready for the re-opening despite the warnings of a "death curse" by the locals.Soon the curse proves true on the day of Friday the 13th as all the counselors are killed off one by one Ten Little Indians style.Later on we find out who the killer is and why they have this motive.I won't give the killer away even though everyone knows who it is.The film is scary and the murder sequences are both horrifying and creative.And the Friday The 13th series is still going strong 10 movies and 23 years later.

My favorite movie!...
FRIDAY THE 13TH was quite a landmark in the world of horror. Not only did it begin the infamous legacy of the unstoppable Jason Voorhees, but it also (along with HALLOWEEN) opened the door to more than a decade's worth of imitators.

This is the 2nd scariest FRIDAY THE 13TH of all ten flicks. It would be the scariest, but Rob Hedden's obssession w/"pushing the limits" terror and suspense of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII:... This one is pretty scary because the viewer doesn't know what the heck is going on. There is a killer, but who is it? And why? After 20 years, pretty much all horror fans know, but it is still very terrifying to watch. It also takes place in the middle of nowhere, and that is a very good element of horror. ...

One of the best things about this movie, and one of my favorite elements, is the score! Harry Manfredini wrote what, 16 years later, became my absolute ultimate favorite film score ever! Some call it a rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's score to PSYCHO, but they are dead wrong! This score is slightly reminiscent of PSYCHO in some places, but it has far more elements and is far more chilling! Now all it needs is a decent release...

For those that want to know about the premise itself...

In 1958, two Camp Crystal Lake counselors are murdered. After a couple more unfortunate incidences, the camp is shut down. Then comes Friday, June 13th, 1980. Steve Christy opens spends 25 thou reopening up the camp w/ seven young counselors. Little do they know the mysterious killer still lurks. One by one, they are murdered. Nobody finds out what is going on until there is only one counselor left. Where is everybody? They're all dead! It is time for a showdown between the killer and the remaining counselor, after we find out who this person is as well as their motive. For those that like really gory deaths, this one has them (including a decapitation which they were lucky to get away with back then), and this film is also a treat to those who love mystery/thrillers/"what the heck's going on?" type movies. It may not be the most original movie in the world, but is a very satisfying watch for those that like true terror. ... Read more

Reviews (199)

Excellent sequel.
This movie was as good as the first one. Fans get their first look at Jason, who is avenging his mother's death. Jason was misunderstood. This movie is basically like the first one. Another good horror.

"The body count continues."
After a pre-credit sequence that nicely severs itself from the previous film's storyline, Friday the 13th Part 2 jumps forward five years to focus on a new group of victims to be opening a "Counselor Boot Camp" on the accursed Crystal Lake. The raw wounds of the previous debacle are still sore points with the locals, who are leery of a possible new 'Camp Blood', and with good reason. Turns out that Jason Voorhees (whose burlap sack of a mask had 1981 theater audiences giggling and making joking references to David Lynch's then current hit The Elephant Man) did not drown in Crystal Lake like his mother believed, but has been living like an animal in the surrounding woods while waiting for the opportunity to continue enacting his revenge for his mother's murder. As the advertisements promised, 'the body count continues'!

First time director Steve Miner (Lake Placid, Halloween H20) keeps screenwriter Ron Kurz's ultra-flimsy 'story' moving at a gallop. Clocking in at an economical 87 minutes, Friday the 13th Part 2 is the shortest film of the series and a fairly entertaining one. Amy Steel (April Fool's Day, The Powers of Matthew Starr) makes an engaging herione and Stu Charno (Christine) provides, for a change, non-irritating and plot natural comic relief as the camp's merry prankster. Harry Manfredini's now famous score remains a rollicking rollercoaster ride of a horror movie composition. Fans may love it, but non-fans will only find it run-of-the-kill.

F13 PART 2 (BEST SEQUAL)
PART 2 puts all the others sequals to shame!
Good points:
crazy faceless killer living in the woods
creepy atmosphere
extremely bizarre ending
best Friday the 13th actress, Amy Steel, as "Ginny"
return of "Crazy Ralph"
scarriest death scene: Vikki (when Jason hides under covers)!!
creepiest cat & mouse chase (with Ginny)

Of course this movie was nowhere near perfect. Not much information is given to the audience & the ending leaves you hanging. And what's up with the intro? The scene with Alice was unrealistic & rather pointless. Jason couldn't possibly know how to track down his mother's killer.

Too much was cut from this movie as well. In the original script, Mrs Voorhees's eyes were suppose open! That would have opened up doors for the following sequals (then in Part 3 she would return?)

After part 2, the FRIDAY THE 13th plot goes somewhere else.
For instance he looks completely different in part 3 and then again in part 4.

PART 3 was good but strays away from the original storyline (Chris and her stupid encounter with Jason a few years back). I never understood why that story was introduced. oh well

Jason's REAL first appearance is met by a beautiful new DVD!
Everyone knows Part 2 is the first OFFICIAL Jason movie since it was only his mother who was the killer in the first one. Having said that, Part 2 is almost as good as the first, if not a little bit scarier thanks to the direction of Steve Miner. The cast of young characters are like-able and fun, and it works as a nice balance between the threat that is Jason. He's not the hockey masked maniac he would later become, but he's very frightening as a mentally disturbed freak who roams the woods wearing a sheet over his head. The climax is a real show down that would later become the highlight of these movies. This is a classic slasher of the early 80's and the new DVD does it a lot of justice. Although the old VHS tapes were in much better shape than some of the other movies in the series, Part 2 does look much better on DVD. The trailer is a lot like the trailer for the first one, but still nice to have. No other extras of course, but at least we have a nice sharp transfer.

At Least We Get Jason In This
Friday The 13th was a surprise box office hit in 1980, so a sequel was inevitable. While the original film was a rather decent and raw horror film, this sequel begins what is to be the typical in slasher/horror/Friday The 13th sequels. Most of the rawness and vividness of the first film will never be recaptured, and they become the quintessential hack and slash horror sequels. Beginning with this one. The only thing that makes this sequel different from the original is the introduction of Jason. If you remember, his mother was the killer in the original. As far as slasher films go, this one is pleasing. Nothing new. As expected, there really isn't a story here. Did you expect one?. There's a camp. There's some camp councelors. There's some campers. There's a homicidal killer with a fondness for gardening tools and other sharp instruments. Voila!. You got yourself a sequel!. We get a decent lead performance by Amy Steel as Jenny. She's not great, but she does the part good enough. This film is before Jason gets his infamous hockey mask. If you ask me, Jason's sheet he wears in this film with one eye hole(reminiscent of The Elephant Man) is far more scarier than the hockey mask. That's just me. What do you all think?. We are bombarded with more of the same babes in the woods getting knifed, strangled, sliced & diced. There's even a twofer when Jason gets two campers at once. Any guesses as to what they were doing?. It's sure to please any Friday fan and slasher fan. Other than that, why bother?. ... Read more