Reviews (23)

Crazy in Alabama - One of my favourite movies
"Crazy in Alabama" is one of the best films I've ever seen, combines with great ability two different stories, one of Civil Rights and other about Lucille, who killed her husband , put his head into a bag and went to Hollywood to become a TV star.
I think Antonio Banderas directed this film perfectly and Melanie Griffith does one of her best movies.
I watch this movie from time to time and I really enjoy it, the music is beautiful.
I'm expecting your next movie Antonio!

Likeable film (SPOILER WARNING)
SPOILER WARNING: This comment discusses the ending of this film in detail. If you haven't seen the film, you might want to wait until you have seen it before you read this comment.

This is a very likeable film about a flaky woman and her family in 60's Alabama. Lucille (Melanie Griffith) is fleeing her small town because she just killed her husband and cut off his head. She left the body in her freezer and decided to take the head with her as she embarks on her new career in Hollywood. This is actually two stories. The first is Lucille's escapades and the second follows her young nephew Peejoe back home, who finds himself in the middle of a civil rights incident involving the death of a young black man who refuses to leave an all white swimming pool. Both stories are well done, but disparate.

This is my first criticism of the Mark Childress screenplay based on his own novel. This story can't make up its mind whether it is a farce (the Lucille story) or a serious drama about civil rights in the 1960's. It succeeds in both regards, but putting the two together takes impact and credibility away from the serious civil rights story, which in my mind was the better element.

My second criticism was the ending. Lucille is tried and convicted of the first degree murder of her husband and is sentenced to 20 years, (suspended) and five years of therapy, then set free. Although this panders shamelessly to the feel good audience, and Lucille was a lovable character, films like this send the wrong message to the masses regarding justice and accountability. The message is that if you are likeable, flaky and a victim, the rule of law doesn't have to apply to you. I feel that the film industry needs to take a little more responsibility than this.

When I saw the movie, I started out skeptical about the prospects of a film directed by Antonio Banderas, even more since his wife Melanie Griffith was cast in the lead. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts. Banderas showed very solid direction, good camera work, excellent period props (great vintage cars), and an attention to detail that was impressive for a first time director.

Melanie Griffith was the best I can remember her since "Working Girl". She was charmingly loopy and brightened up every scene she was in. But as good as she was, the best performance was from young Lucas Black as Peejoe. After a fine performance in "Sling Blade" he proves it wasn't just a fluke. Black has a natural, plain spoken acting style with that heavy southern drawl which is I'm sure must be close to his real accent. He projects sincerity and character and an inner strength far greater than one would expect for his years. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

I rate this film 7/10. It was a good story with an identity crisis, but most people will have an easy time liking this film.

Hey, call me crazy
This movie was for me something of a cross between Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes" and McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood." All are about the Alabama thing, and Childress's novel (and screenplay) more closely resembles the McCrae book than the Flagg with its southern lunacy and thin lines between fantasy and reality. That said, I was a little let down by this. It's almost a cliche to say it, but the book was so much better. There were things that were changed, and for no reason that I could see warrented it: The television show in the book is "The Beverly Hillbillies" and the one in the movie is "Bewitched." The former made more sense. Also, I liked the casting with the exception of Griffith. Southern women of the ilk that Childress created are not that sluggish--they're more quick witted and fiesty. All-in-all it was a pleasurable experience and better than most of the stuff nowadays.

Good performances can't save choppy film
The DVD included an interview with director Antonio Banderas. I mention this because he introduced some of the movie's out takes. In doing so, he said that the original rough cut ran three and a half hours and that cutting it to its present length was very difficult. I am of the 'shorter is better' film school, but, in this case, I would be curious to see the long version. I suspect that Carzy in Alabama's heart wound up on the cutting room floor.

In the movie, as in the book, thirteen-year old Peejoe [Lucas Black] narrates two stories. These are two life-altering events that happened to him in his hometown of Industry, Alabama in 1965. One is about about how his Aunt Lucille [Melanie Griffith] kills her abusive husband with rat posioning, parks her seven kids with her mother and drives to California to be a star. The other concerns his witnessing the killing of a young black boy by the local sheriff during a sit-in at a local public swimming pool. Both stories are about the high price of freedom.

Carzy in Alabama is very professionally done. It's equal parts sweet and bitter-sweet. The bad thing is that it also has very little substance. Imagine that you are driving down a long, tree-lined driveway. You arrive at a large, beautiful house. You are impressed by your surroundings. You enter the house, which is beautifully decorated, except for one glaring detail - there are no furnishings. You find there are not even any clothes in the closets. That's what movies such as Crazy in Alabama are like. Impressive looking yet sadly empty.

This hollowness is not the fault of the actors. What we see of them is quite good. I suspect that the only way to really judge their performance would be to see the rest of the footage. There is a scene during Lucille's trial where she points at a woman in the gallery. She says that she knew all along that this woman, her best friend, had been having an affair with her now dead husband. As if to prove the point, the woman flees the court room in tears. The problem with this scene is that it's the first and last time the audience sees Lucille's best friend. So, the moment lacks impact. I can't blame Banderas. In fact, he seems to have had little problem in directing the cast or in supervising the photography. I can't point the finger at the book's author, because I haven't read it. There is only one place I can lay the blame. The movie's distributor was afraid to release a three-hour version of a film that wasn't very commercial to begin with. [You can tell when a studio has a problem picture when the trailers have virtually nothing to do with the storyline.] I believe that, if you know you are going to lose your investment, why does it matter how long the product runs? Isn't getting praise from a limited audience some kind of consolation?

Because it is so badly edited, Crazy in Alabama is unable to tell either of its two stories well. You don't get enough background to relate to Lucille's insisting she had no other option than to kill her husband. She comes across as self-centered, which surely was not the movie's intent. The civil rights story has the picture's most moving and dramatically interesting moments, but this tale gets quitely put in a corner about three-fourths of the way through.

Surprising Excellence!
"Crazy in Alabama" is set in the early 1960's and combines several plots expertly: the Civil Rights Movement, spousal abuse, and parentless children. Antonio Banderas directs brilliantly. Melanie Griffith is a vision of loveliness and her performance is worth seeing all by itself! The bottom line is, no matter what the consequences, we must do the right thing. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Comedy is king in this second collection of outtakes from the Fox studio vaults. Some former vaudevillians are captured in rare clips, including behind-the-scenes footage of Buster Keaton instructing Alice Faye in the proper method for taking a cream pie in the face. W.C. Fields holds court in a legendary sequence from Tales of Manhattan, cut from the film's release but restored here to something like its original shape (alternate takes show Fields's incorrigible genius for improvising). Danny Kaye shines in a brilliant bit from On the Riviera, parodying an off-key singer manhandling "Begin the Beguine." The musical numbers tend to be so-so, with the notable exception of the Nicholas Brothers tearing through an athletic dance routine in a harem. Skating enthusiasts will welcome the footage of Sonja Henie, whose somewhat mysterious popularity is examined. The spectacle of Victor Mature as a singing star is mercifully (and amusingly) brief. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Amazon.com

Best friends Vince (Woody Harrelson) and Cesar (Antonio Banderas) areboth down-on-their-luck boxers who've suddenly been given a highly visible fight and a promised shot at the middleweight title--only they're fighting each other. With Grace (Lolita Davidovich), Cesar's current girlfriend and Vince's ex, they drive to Las Vegas. Unsurprisingly, the trip opens up hidden resentments, regrets, and mistakes from the past. What's more surprising is how meandering and shapeless Play It to the Bone is; writer-director Ron Shelton is responsible for such charming and sprightly sports films as Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, and Tin Cup, but boxing doesn't seem to have inspired him. The actual boxing match does achieve a kind of brutal energy, though it's curiously filled with gratuitous hallucinations of female nudity. Still, Harrelson and Banderas have a nice rapport, and in their best moments they just yammer at each other, not exactly listening but still communing in a kind of rhythmic groove. Also featuring Lucy Liu from TV's Ally McBeal and dozens of famous cameos at ringside during the bout. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Execelent
The Book was great, and if you have read the book the movie folds the whole book together

More like Cheez-Whiz
I must admit that I have never been a fan of Robert Cormier's young adult novels.Although they did tackle cutting edge themes, I never believed them.None of the characters reminded me of kids I knew, or mirrored my experience.Cormier seemed like an adult trying to connect with teens but never quite managing it.He got far enough to upset some religious groups and get a few books banned, but he never crept into the consciousness of his readers.The fault lies in the simple, wooden prose that condescends to, rather than engages, the reader, and in Cormier's "after-school special" subjects.

The film of "I am the Cheese" does not improve on the novel.Our hero finds himself in a mental hospital with amnesia, trying to remember what happened to his parents.We flash back to various moments in the past as he tries to recall the deep, dark secrets of his life.Needless to say, "The Catcher in the Rye" this is not.Despite one hug-filled scene, no relationship- antagonistic or otherwise- exists between our hero and his shrink (Robert Wagner), leaving their scenes together flat and unconvincing.These scenes stop the film dead, and none of the hero's revelations packs any emotional punch.

In fact, the whole film is so laid back that not even younger children will find any suspense here.

Based on Robert Cormier's young adult novel
Based on young adult author, Robert Cormier's chilling 1970's classic.You simply have to read the book to understand, and feel this story.I read the book in 9 th grade and was disturbed for days!About a year later I saw the movie in the video store, rented it, and dubbed it.The suspense of the book is better.Anyway... Elliot's brother from "E.T." plays young Adam Farmer, or is he?Adam goes on a mental and physical journey, more mental, to discover his true identity.The book's confusing enough, but you have to be glued to the tv to follow this movie.Not a bad movie, more for teens, certainly heavy though.I get that Adam's father was involved in some illegal activity, hence the family lives on the run.I don't want to give the movie away... Watch the movie, then read the book, or vice versa, but you SHOULD read the book.Trust me.Not a Friday night movie by any means, but worth a look for curiosity's sake. A little out dated now.Robert Cormier has a bit part as a news editor.Released in theaters for a sort time, then quickly went to video.If this movie was made now, it could be better.Cormier was against making this a movie from the start.

INDEPENDENT YOUNG ADULT SUSPENSE
Although highly regarded as a superb independent film from many qualified sources including The New York Times, I found this rare, hard-to-find video to be lacking in substance and heavy on uninvolved emotional suspense. Intended primarily for a adolescent audience and derived from a popular juvenile fiction novel, it tells the story of a 15 year-old boy who struggles to learn his true identity. Given the youthful audience it targets, it is at least unconventional film-making and a think-piece foryoung minds who would enjoy a more intellectual slice of drama. For all it's youthfullness though, it is a dark and grim plotline and adults may be troubled by the lead character's predicament and psychological well-being. Apparently there's something here that young teenagers will absorb. Robert Wagner is very stiff and lifeless in the role of the boy's psychiatrist and Hope Lange plays an incidental character even less significant than her role as the doomed wife of Charles Bronson in "Death Wish". If nothing else, "I Am The Cheese" is unique.

IT'S A VERY TOUCHING STORY , WHICH WILL STAY W/YOU FOREVER
I AM THE CHEESE IS THE STORY OF A BOY LOOKING FOR ANSWERS ABOUT HIS FAMILY WERE ABOUTS.THE STORY UNFOLD TO LATER FIND OUT A TERRIBLE SECRET OF THE BOY.I READ THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS IN THE 3RD GRADE. I NEVER THOUGHT THESTORY WILL MAKE SUCH ANINPACT THAT IT WILL REMAIN SO VIVIDLY IN MY MINDTHRU OUT THE YEARS. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Judy Garland in Valley of the Dolls? Walter Matthau in The Seven Year Itch? These are among the what-ifs offered by these screen tests from the vaults of Twentieth Century Fox. Some of the pieces are more intriguing than others (there's too much time spent on Hello, Dolly!), but the goodies are choice: teenage Tuesday Weld showing her independent spirit in a casual "personality test," and the brand-new Rock Hudson rather unpolished in an extended emotional scene. A highlight is a long test of a pre-Green Hornet Bruce Lee (shot, Lee mentions, a few days after the birth of his son Brandon), in which the future star shows off his dazzling kung fu moves. Matthau's test (he was favored by director Billy Wilder) is played side-by-side with Tom Ewell trying the same scene; Ewell got the role he'd played on Broadway, but this snippet makes you wonder what might have been. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lots Of Stars - Not Many Shiners
This relatively brief series of vintage screen tests of the stars from the sixties is satisfying on the first take, but I cannot imagine watching it twice, other than to share it. Sean Connery looks darn good in his first test (did he ever not?) and can actually act. But, his test for "The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness" just looks weird as Sean playing a half white/half Japanese man. Mia Farrow can't exactly sing in her test for "The Sound Of Music", but she has the skills to land herself in Peyton Place; a much more appropriate place for her. Christopher Plummer shows up singing "Edelweiss" in his real voice only to be dubbed by someone else - there's not much difference. A good deal of the DVD goes to the large search for the actors for the Von Trapp family. There are a few surprises there (Kim Darby?). There's a large section on Batman and Robin and I really don't understand the importance of these tests as they are for TV and not major films. However, it's interesting to see them all nervously try out. James Coburn is an absolute riot in his test alongside Raquel Welch. Her talents are obvious, but he just dances around, arms flailing like a smiling geek, and he was considered a woman's man! Another real shocker is not that Mitzi Gaynor nailed "South Pacific", but that she overdubbed so many other film scores, like "My Fair Lady" and several others. She almost sang for Julie Andrews on the "Sound Of Music". That would have been a travesty! In summary, there are some interesting anecdotes and unknown secrets, but there are so many stars out there that a tight screen test overview would be nearly impossible. I guess that's why "Hollywood Screen Tests, Take II" was released. Note: For pre-1970's hard-core movie buffs only and there are no extras.

Good, Especially DOLLY Shots
This DVD is a good show, interesting to watch. Obviously, everyone will have different reasons for purchasing it. Some will look forward to seeing some screen tests over others.

I bought the DVD for the HELLO DOLLY screen tests and costume shots. I was amazed that this footage was not used on the newly released Fox DOLLY DVD! Extremely rare Streisand costume and wig tests and screen tests for the supporting roles are the highlight here. All of the DOLLY footage is in excellent condition. Danny Lockin's audition is very charming and it's obvious why director Gene Kelly chose him. You can even hear Kelly off screen reading with Lockin. Also interesting is Sandy Duncan's audition.

A bit disappointing...
I bought SCREENTEST TAKE 1 for the Batman screentests. What was here was nice to see one time, but were obviously edited and incomplete. Also, there is unnecessary narration over the parts of it that were shown. ... Would I purchase a DVD of a Stones concert if it had a narrator commenting how good Jagger looks or how well the band held up over the years? I think not. CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS DVD EXCEPT FOR A CASUAL VIEW. Not worth the money, nor suitable for a permanent DVD library/collection/archive because of the above mentioned problems. ... Read more

Description

When a high tech computer virus turns deadly, Specialist Samantha Craig (Janine Turner) teams up with Dr. Nick Baldwin (Antonio Sabato Jr.) to investigate. Together they must solve the mystery as to who or what force is behind this... It's a race against time to uncover the lethal pathogen and stop their plot to destroy the world! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Cuba at the time of capitalistic strife
A mushy rewriting of Romeo and Juliet in the context of the conflict between Greeks and Americans in Cuba, before Castro's revolution, centered on the fishing and commerce of sponges. The Americans impose some good zones to be their own, anyone else, particularly the Greeks, being excluded, expelled evn by force if necessary. The Greeks challenge this illegal zoning and are the victims of plundering and violence. Then we get a love affair between one young American girl, promised for marriage to an American man, and a young Greek boy. The love affair causes a lot of strife but ends well. No descent to any vault, no poisoning, fake or true, and no dying.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Beneath the 12 Mile Reef
As all of us movie buffs, I really hate it when scenes get deleted from a film. The end of the fight between Tony's Father and Arnold has been deleted (where they begin to fight "greek style", and Tony's father makes Arnold eat a cigar). It is a great character building scene, and it is a shame it is NOT on the DVD. I personally would rather they include all scenes, even if they get a little fuzzy, as part of the heart of this movie had been removed.

However, there was a good side to the DVD as well. Those of us baby boomers who grew up watching and loving the film on television never knew the true ending of the movie, as we could not see it in wide screen. As I know the movie well, it was a pleasant surprise to see the entire picture when Tony brings his hook boat back into the greek harbor in Tarpin. I will not ruin it for anyone, but it was a nice touch to the end of the movie that I am glad to know. For those who have not seen the movie, it is a great one (considering when it was made), and has no bad or distasteful scenes, but portrays the life of early sponge divers.

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
I liked it. It is an older movie that tells a neat story. Sure it's been told lots of times, but this one is a little different.

underrated early CinemaScope pic
Greek sponge divers run afoul of Florida Key locals for poaching rights in this early CinemaScope picture featuring Robert Wagner and Terry Moore as the young Romero and Juliet between the warring families. Noted mainly for its brilliant underwater photography and superb Bernard Herrmann score. In Technicolor!

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
I found this movie very entertaining because of the Florida locale (I've been to Tarpon Springs, one of the settings in this movie) and the stunning photography, especially the underwater scenes.

The story is a Romeo and Julliete type, but also gives an account of an almost dead breed of divers (Spunge divers).

My only critique of this video would be that it seems that it is a colorized version instead of a true Technicolor version. It just seems to me that the color is "off line" with its subjects in many scenes and is rather muddy on several occasions. This is just an observation comparing this video with other videos I've seen of this vintage (1953).

I highly reccommend this movie to everyone. It is a cheery but serious movie delving into the trials and tribulations of sponge divers of the Florida West coast.

An added feature, a scene of the Greek Epithany celebration in Tarpon Springs is included in this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (203)

Worth a viewing, but rent it.
WILD THINGS is definitely worth a viewing, but only one. Save some money and rent it from the video store, but get it on DVD if you are able, because the colors, picture quality and cinemotography are excellent. All of the leads are fabulous in this film. Denise Richards is a standout as a spoiled and vicious teen.

The twists and turns that Leonard Maltin spoke of aren't THAT clever. And the film does wind up shooting itself in the foot, because too much of something is never good--the viewer does catch on quickly and the surprises are no longer unexpected, hence the "gotchas" at the end are predictable. WILD THINGS could've learned something from THE USUAL SUSPECTS. There is one character surprise at the end that will have you laughing with malicious glee. They're not Keyser Soze, but they're just as clever!

A word of advice: if you rent the DVD, do NOT watch the theatrical trailer before viewing. It reveals too much of the plot.

A cool movie, twisted and sexy plot, great cast
A sexy movie churned up in a twisted plot, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Matt Dillion, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Murray make this a very worthwhile film to see. Guys will probably oogle over the threesome scene with Denise, Neve and Matt, and it's a really nice scene :-) The acting is very good, and the cast played their parts well. I knocked off a star because I didn't need to see Kevin's sausage. That could have stayed in the towel. (All I can say is, fast forward through the shower scene!) Great movie to see, and its worth buying it!

Great ending.
Great Movie I loved the ending. Did not know what to expect from this movie but it turned out great. BUY IT....

(Can not give it 5 starts since no movie is that good.)

Hot Chicks, Man's Shlong?
Probably the best movie I have ever seen, except for Kevin Bacon's bacon in the shower. I did not need to see his noodle. Nice looking Girls. Best plot I have ever seen. I have seen other movies copy their plot and it wasn't as good.

Wild Things lives up to it's title
If it's not sex, it's murder. This movie continuously keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. With great performances by Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon, this movie is all about who's telling the truth. Though this movie has a few holes as to what happened, they are all filled up when you watch the credits. It has lots of violence, some drugs, a good story, and a few interesting sexual scenes. Very interesting. For the good acting, good ending, and suspense, I give this movie four stars. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Fun!
I think nobody reviewed the dvd edition yet, so I'll start saying that the anamorphic widescreen transfer is fine, colours are not drab and sharpness is very good. I did not check the full-screen side of the disc.
I'm not sure the movie itself comes out so well but it sure is fun. Jeffrey Hunter playing some kind of part-time detective college professor, glasses and all, is something to be seen. And legendary Mary Astor is always a delight, she only appears in a couple of scenes though. Couldn't this mother/son relationship be a prelude to the one in "Psycho"? And what about killing the leading lady halfway the movie and having her sister investigate her death?
Well, plot holes, stilted directing, goofs (the clouds and the light in the important rooftop scene, obviously shot in different days or perhaps different times of the same day) and all, this is really fun to see (and Robert Wagner is so thin).

KISS BEFORE DYING
Great fun! I enjoyed so much to see Bob Wagner so young and scary. Jeff Hunter's part is so small(sorry!). After all other comments I just want to inform future buyers that the DVD has both versions of the movie (standard and widescreen)something to consider when you still don't have a Widescreen TV but is planning to buy one soon. I had to import a copy once it's not available in my country. Worth every cent. Buy it!

Bollywood Movie "Baazigar" is a remake of this movie
The India based Bollywood Movie "Baazigar" is a remake of this movie...

one of the best books to movies made
I first read this story in a 1972 doubleday mystery volume. When I found it was a movie I was hesitant about watching as most books and movies just don't follow each other closely. This movie certainly does and wow, it is a chiller. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and is well worth watching and reading over and over again. This is a great story by Mr. Levin and movie by the director who made it.

Classic thriller from Gerd Oswald!
"A Kiss Before Dying" is an outstanding thriller with Hitchcock-level suspense courtesy of Gerd Oswald, a director much better known for his TV work on "The Outer Limits" and "Star Trek." Robert Wagner is excellent as a sociopathic killer who carries out the perfect crime but is done in by his own ambition and cleverness. The whole thing could have become ridiculous very easily, owing to certain gaps in story logic, but the dead-serious tone, the fast pacing and editing, and the high artistry of all involved make this a classic, if unusually elegant, piece of film noir. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A callow Southern aristocrat (the charismatically challenged Robert Wagner) acquires character and democratic values in the crucible of combat, via a laboriously complicated script that begins in the middle of things and then loads on explanatory flashbacks like a forklift. On "an island in the Pacific, 1945," the scion of a Tennessee cotton dynasty becomes not only comrade-in-arms but also friend to the sharecroppers he once scorned. Although the jungle island is crawling with Japanese snipers and patrols, the greatest danger comes from U.S. officers who are variously incompetent, "yellow," or--in the case of company commander Broderick Crawford--certifiably insane. Screenwriter Harry Brown wrote the World War II classic A Walk in the Sun 11 years earlier, but the characters here are a dull lot and the dialogue terminally flatfooted. However, director Richard Fleischer blocks his action scenes to take full advantage of the CinemaScope format. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Between Heaven and Hell
This is a very effective psychological war film with a great performance by Broderick Crawford as the demented commander of a group of loose canons located in an isolated jungle outpost during W.W.II. Robert Wagner is ordered to the post for his transgressions and comes to terms with his own lack of humanity. This film contains one of Hugo Friedhofer's best scores. The stereo score on this VHS recording sounds excellent.

AHH THE GUNS!
Robert Wagner is so cool as Prinve Valiant! In this movie he fights for his country and does all he can for his wife too.I would like to see it someday.

Turgid drama, Inept acting, Wrenched plot!
There is not much to recommend this trivial world war II drama. Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, and Robert Wagner all confirm their tertiary status in the Hollywood pantheon. The plot is inept and incredible, staggering through bunches of flashbacks. The minor miracle (Rich and arrogant southern playboy/landowner comes of age and learns to love the common man) is insufficiently believable. The battle action is sporadic.

HOWEVER, the DVD presentation is fine. Super-saturated colors come through perfectly, and the definition is great! The DVD quality is the sole reason I give the film 2 stars rather than 1.

May I recommend films such as Patton, Tora Tora Tora, or the Longest Day for fine World War II action!

A WWII Coming of Age
This film is about a man whose worldview is limited by his prejudiced, high-class upbringing. The horrors of war will show him the error of his ways and become a better human. The path is indeed a hard one.

The story begins "in medias res" with a demoted sergeant being transferred to a distant post in the Pacific Theatre in WWII. Robert Wagner plays this soldier from the South named Sam Gifford who must now rejoin the rank and file. Under the command of a sadistic captain, Gifford recalls his past as a wealthy landowner and his treatment of his sharecroppers. He then recalls the events of his heroism and demotion. Through all of this, he learns that the people he mistreated back home are just as capable of heroism and that he has been wrong.

Buddy Ebsen, from "The Beverly Hillbillies," plays a part in this film, and I believe he made the movie enjoyable. He wasn't comic relief, but played the stout-hearted sharecropper that truly showed Gifford the error of his ways.

The part of the sadistic captain doesn't seem to fit at first, but watch the whole movie, and his place and his story will make sense.

A fairly good movie, but the flashbacks seem a bit excessive. They are necessary, but still seem a bit much where they are.

Between Heaven and Hell
This is a very effective psychological war film with a great performance by Broderick Crawford as the demented commander of a group of loose canons located in an isolated jungle outpost during W.W.II. Robert Wagner is ordered to the post for his transgressions and comes to terms with his own lack of humanity. This film contains one of Hugo Friedhofer's best scores. The stereo score on this VHS recording sounds excellent. ... Read more