Validation of the Sixth Doctor..., Jun 3 2004

However, I have to say that in retrospect, the lad was actually pretty darned good. I've picked up a few of Colin's adventures on DVD, and have come away with a new appreciation of his take on the Doctor.

The Second Doctor and Jaime visit a space station on behalf of the Time Lords. Some scientists have been tinkering with a time machine, and the Time Lords are concerned. However, the Sontarans attack and capture the Doctor and the prototype machine with the help of the station's director. They plot to use the Doctor's DNA to enable them to complete the time machine and travel in time. Enter the Sixth Doctor and Peri, who try to recapture the Second Doctor and save Time itself from the Sontaran warlords.

The story is rather inventive in "The Two Doctors", although the Spanish locations are kind of a waste since the show could have been shot just as easily in the UK. The installment was somewhat disappointing in that the cannibalism angle was never fully explained or exploited, and the 45-minute episode length works against the best concepts of the show. There also seems to be a spot of meanness (so common to the Colin Baker era), as one of the minor characters gets murdered pointlessly. The Doctor himself steps way out of character and takes a life in a somewhat glib manner.

Still, we have Patrick Troughton, and even in the padded parts, he makes the show a joy to watch. The villains are somewhat entertaining, as well, and the locations are pretty.

As for extras, there are two segments of raw footage (one in the studio, one on location), that give the viewer an idea of how the show was put together. Another segment recounts the difficulties encountered in finding suitable locations not only for the story, but for those interested in the industry. There's also a nice retrospect of Robert Holmes' work on Doctor Who, which is a loving tribute to the late writer by his co-workers on the show.

The best part of this set is the segment where a young Who fan gets his wish and becomes part of a new, mini-Who adventure with Colin Baker, the Sontarans, and Teagan aboard the TARDIS, complete with impressive floor effects. I love this segment for three reasons; first, it was very, very well-done work. Second, the kid proved to me that Colin's Doctor had fans, as evidenced by his costume, patterned after Colin's, and made "by his Nan." Third, and best of all for me, was Colin's Doctor talking smack to Teagan and pointing out what a mouthy, sour, pain in the neck she was. Teagan is the one companion that grated on my nerves to the nth degree, and one which I've always heartily despised, so full marks to whoever wrote the segment, and for Colin, apparently acting "from the heart."

Oh, and if all of that were not enough, let's not forget Patrick Troughton's second Doctor (along with companion Jaime) making a triuphant return to the series. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Overall, this is a surprisingly well-packed DVD for the Sixth Doctor, generally known as being the least-loved. If, like me, you never really cared for Colin Baker as the Doctor, you may want to try this one out. You just might change your mind.

The Bell Tolls for Captain Midnight...., May 28 2004

O'Brien fills the role of Midnight well, despite looking and sounding a bit like a young Richard Anderson (Oscar Goldman from "The Six Million Dollar Man").

Dorothy Short as the scientist's daughter, Joyce Edwards, is mostly suitable as a sort of love interest for Midnight, but mostly useless in every other capacity. She brings the helpless-girl-who-gets-in-trouble-in-almost-every-chapter to heights never dreamed of by Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the classic Superman TV series. Short's continual screaming and helpless antics drag the serial down a bit. Far better (and a better choice for the Joyce character!), is the evil daughter of Ivan Shark, Fury, played by Luana Walters.

Joseph W. Girard plays the gruff but concerned Major Steele, who lets Cap walk all over him (apparently, in Midnight's army, being a "mystery man" means a captain outranks his commanding officer). Guy Wilkerson and Sam Edwards lend a hand as Captain Midnight's pals, who, like Captain Midnight and all the crooks, share the strange inabillity to retain their firearms when they get their foes cornered.

Ivan Shark, played by James Craven, is a great villain. He is a master of disguise, and has a fabulous secret lair. Several things fail Craven however, as his personal "Arab" outfit to hide his features is discarded about half-way through the story. Also dropped is the gang members going by numbers and not names. Worst of all, Shark's purpose and motivation for trying to wreck America's defense plants is never very clearly explained. As he sneers his evil way through confrontations with Midnight, all the while operating his dubious death traps, there never seems to be any connection with the Germans or Japanese, an element that would have added to the believability of Shark as an anti-American fifth-columnist villian.

One gets the sense that this serial (released in early 1942) had originally been more about a gang of rogue, criminal aviators who are after the scientist's new bombsight to serve their own ends. That would make sense, seeing as how the oft mentioned but never seen defense plant attacks were probably incorporated into the story post-Pearl Harbor.

The serial is pretty good overall, with moderately suspenseful cliffhangers and some good tricks, secret hideouts, and fights. It's probably two or three chapter too long, though, and things can get a bit tedious after a while. Probably Columbia's best effort, but it's no Republic serial, for sure.

Excellent offering from Universal..., Mar 12 2004

With eight A&C movies, in chronological order, pristine processing and transfers, production notes and trailers for each film, and a nice gatefold keep case, the fan of A&C can't possibly go wrong with this purchase. And all this for the price of an average new single DVD release! Way to go, Universal!

Contained in the set are all three of A&C's service comedies, ("Buck Privates," "In the Navy" and "Keep 'em Flying"), all released in 1941. As with the early Bob Hope service movies, there is a somewhat chilling element when you realize that a few short months after the releases, the nation would be attacked at Pearl Harbor. "In the Navy" is especially distracting in this context as the story takes place on a battleship docked at Pearl (the USS Alabama), and the sailors sing about the strength of the Navy, and the Navy being the backbone of our defense.

Also present here are "Hold That Ghost" and "Who Done It", both with capital displays of noirish cinematography. Great musical numbers show up throughout, too, with the Andrew Sisters ("Buck Privates", "Hold That Ghost"), The Six Hits, the Merry Macs, and others. Also appearing are the Four Ink Spots, and a great novelty act by the dance team of Tip, Tap, & Toe (both in "Pardon My Sarong").

The routines of A&C never looked better, and the last film in the set ("Who Done It"), even contains an ad-libbed take-off on "Who's on First" called "Watts Volts".

Celtic history comes alive..., Mar 2 2004

If there is a drawback to this set, it would have to be the lack of updated material. While I appreciate that the series is on DVD in an unmolested format, and while most of the material does not require any changes, there are some points that could have been given a follow-up segment. Chief among these is the phenomenon of the broadcasts in Welsh and Breton, which were completely in the native languages. Does the practice continue, or has funding and viewership declined since 1987? Are young people still interested in trying to learn their native tongues and customs? Are the parades and festivals that celebrate Celtic heritage still being held? Do the Irish storytellers still wander the countryside spinning tales? The series today leaves too many questions unanswered since the episodes originally aired in 1987, despite the excellent description of the historical Celtic world.

For many, the whole point of owning the series is the music of Enya, which was released as a separate soundtrack album, and was her first official solo effort. Enya herself is featured in an 80's music video at the end of one installment, and appears personally in another. The balance of her contribution is to the soundtrack that is still beloved among fans.

Included with the series are several interesting and vintage features from the BBC. One is what amounts to a 30 minute music video montage of an Irish weekend, from 1981. There are two interviews with Enya, related to the release of "Watermark", and there is another BBC documentary featurette on Celtic peoples taken from a late 80's news program.

Sadly, without any kind of revision, the series takes on a quaint, even dated, quality. Even so, you're less likely to find a better or more intelligent attempt to explain Celticism than Frank Delaney's "The Celts".

Above Average Oater..., Feb 25 2004

There are many low-budget westerns that were made in the 1930's, and most look pretty dry today. But "Desert Phantom" (1936) has a few things going for it that keep the movie from lacking all interest.

First, the mystery surrounding the "Phantom" is handled pretty well, and although you know he will be revealed as a cast member, his identity remains almost a mystery right up to the end. Only the most passing of cliche hints is offered to the audience early on.

Ted Adams's Salizar is suitably menacing, although the character degenerates into a bit of silliness when he decides to marry Jean (given the nature of Donovan's grudge, this element does not seem all that plausible). Also on hand is Nelson McDowell in a fine comedic turn as "Doc" Simpson, the town horse doctor.

The print used by Alpha Video is clearly from an inferior video source, with some serious kerning and other video errors. But for the price, and to have one of these old films to screen, one can probably not argue too much.

A remake of 1932's "Night Rider".

Passable Old Dark House Mystery..., Feb 25 2004

Three men hold up a gold shipment, and the mysterious ringleader disappears with the swag while pointing the police at his two fellow crooks. Ten years later, the crooks are released from prison and swear revenge on their former boss, whom even the police think non-existant. Naturally, the crooks track down the bad guy, and everyone winds up at the haunted monastery-turned-mansion/hotel. The guests stopping at the hotel face ghosts, dark stormy nights, mysterious organ music, and murder.

"The Terror" is notable for two things; first, it has an early role for Bernard Lee, who later found lasting fame as "M" in the James Bond movies. It's fun to see him play a mystery man/drunk/hero in comparison to his more famous role. Second, we have a good turn by Alistair Sim as a supporting character, the the crook called "Soapy". Sim is poorly represented on DVD, although he was a simply phenominal actor. His lasting fame is the definitive portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge in the 1951 classic "A Christmas Carol", but he was also outstanding in "Hue and Cry" and "Green for Danger", both currently unavailable.

The movie is slightly a cut above the usual programmer, and there's a spot or two of comedy to help things along.

Under-powered rocket picture..., Feb 16 2004

Fans of the X-15 will be in heaven, as they are treated to a ton of footage of the X-15 in testing, accidents, and actual flight. But sadly, for the rest of us, the movie is a gigantic bore. The X-15 itself is the star of the movie, the humans being incidental, more or less cardboard cut-outs.

The narration of Jimmy Stewart to limited to the opening and closing of the picture, while Mary Tyler Moore and the other officers' wives inexplicably vanish from the last quarter of the picture. Charles Bronson and the other leads are really pretty good, but despite their best efforts, it's really hard to care about them or the success of their plane.

The film is strangely lacking in real emotional content. What emotion there is is contrived and has a forced, "by-the-numbers" quality. Without any real human drama, it almost feels as if the movie had been put together by a computer.

As for the actual X-15 footage, it's hard even to get into that because almost all of the flight scenes are "stretched" to fit the widescreen format. As a result, all of the jets are twice as long and half as tall as they ought to look. Frankly, it's distracting, and so maybe the director should have opted for a smaller aspect ratio during filming so that the other footage would better match the X-15 footage.

Basically, a toy model of a rocket would soar higher than this picture does... and that's without lighting the engines!

A Minor Masterpiece..., Feb 9 2004

"Alice in Wonderland" is very good, of course, but pales a bit in relation to "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty". While faithful to the original source material, the film still seems a bit thin and perhaps even slightly unsatisfying. Maybe this is because the story is only somewhat linear, and of such a surreal nature that it makes viewing somewhat challenging... well, somewhat.

While there are some interesting and fun vintage featurettes and presentations related to "Alice in Wonderland", the biggest drawback with this set is the glaring lack of a documentary on the creation of the film. After some twenty-odd years of pre-production, plus access to star Kathryn Beaumont, you would think that there would have been enough material to put together such a "How They Did It" documentary, a standard extra on the other Masterpiece offerings.

On the plus side, there is an extended clip from the "lost" Disney classic, "Uncle Remus" in one of the featurettes. In recent years, Disney appears to be more and more willing to consider showing some of the politically incorrect bits from its vaults (such as in the "Mickey Mouse in Black and White" compliation, among others), so perhaps this new (and intellegent) attitude bodes well for the ultimate release of "Remus." Well, we can hope so, anyway.

While not the best of Disney, "Alice" is certainly worth a looksee. Some of the techniques used are still superior to the computerized fakery so prevelent in today's animation, and would be instructive to fans and creators of animated film alike.

Donen delivers!, Feb 5 2004

Cary Grant is always marvelous, and his performance here is no exception. His Commander Crewson is a fairly typical Grant role of a part-goldbrick, part-devil-may-care military officer, a standard Grant character. But then, we have some magical moments interspersed with the suave Grant comedy that gives him a chance to really go for the dramatic gusto.

Three soldiers, who have made incredible and heroic contributions to the battles of World War II are being set up for a PR tour to promote the war effort. Crewson and his cohorts decide to have some fun in San Francisco instead, and finagle their way into a few days leave. Once there, it's a life of ease, except for the fact that they're not exactly on an approved leave, and the shore patrol is on the lookout for the rogue heroes. Each man wants to just get out of the line of fire, having seen enough of it, and are not interested in promoting anything but their own freedom, if just for a few days.

Two great Grant dramatic moments will stay with you for sure; in the first, Grant tells off a pushy millionaire who wants the men to give a rah-rah speech to his factory workers. In the other, Crewson meets a fellow soldier he knew, a young man who got a bad break in battle.

Ray Walston and Larry Blyden offer excellent support as Crewson's war hero comrades, and Werner Klemperer ("Hogan's Heroes") stands out as a military PR man shepherding the three semi-awol soldiers. Jayne Mansfield plays a typical "dumb blonde" as usual, and Richard Deacon ("The Dick van Dyke Show") appears in a small, but memorable supporting role as a shy paper magnate.

It's too bad this one isn't better known. Perhaps this is beacuse the movie does not touch the lofty heights of comedy met in "Operation Petticoat" or "Father Goose". Instead, the film is a comedy-drama about WWII, and was possibly aimed at a more mature audience, both of which make the movie a bit more tense for the casual viewer. This is especially true in the last third or so, as the focus wanders a bit into more mature and serious areas, then tries to wander out again by the end.

Regardless, the film is well worth viewing at least once, and is an excellent example of a late 50's "grown-up" film.

She's Not Your Everyday Girl Friday..., Jan 29 2004

Patricia Rozema's stunning 1987 directoral debut is clever and brings a level of visionary design to the work that so many "pro" directors have long abandoned in their quest not to look too "artsy" for Hollywood.

"Organizationally impaired" temp secretary Polly Vandersma gives a video diary confessional about her interactions with her newest employer, a woman Polly quickly comes to worship. Polly's video frames the flashback narrative that includes Polly's daydreams. Polly's daydreams lend an air of fantasy to her somewhat bittersweet story, and elements of fantasy, such as the illuminated paintings (so beautiful they appear only as a canvas made of light), creep into the "real" segments.

This is a film that will stay with you a long time. It's quirky, loveable, has an artistic flair, and the characters come alive with a surprising effectiveness and realism. Polly's observations ("Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?"), further provide us with a look into her particular (and peculiar), point of view.

Released in full frame on VHS about 10-15 years ago, the film has been long out of print. "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing" was also a long time in coming to DVD, so enjoy it in all of its widescreen splendor. Although rated "R" in 1987 for "strong language," the language is actually tame by today's standards.

This is still one of the best foreign films out there, but not so foreign as to prevent all understanding. One viewing will have you hooked.