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Robinson Crusoe on Mars, starring Paul Mantee

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

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Robinson Crusoe on Mars, starring  Paul Mantee

Editorial review of  Robinson Crusoe on Mars courtesy of Amazon.com

Although it is a thoughtful and surprisingly non exploitative movie, the title Robinson Crusoe on Mars might conjure up unholy echoes of cross-pollinated genre movies such as Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter or Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Well, don’t worry. This 1964 space epic is in fact an adaptation of the classic Daniel Defoe novel, and it plays fair by logic and science.

The Circus (1928) starring Charlie Chaplin

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The Circus, produced & directed by Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Al Garcia, Harry Crocker, Henry Bergman

Synopsis of Charlie Chaplin’s The Circus:

The Circus - The Chaplin Collection - Charlie Chaplin on the high wire, surrounded by monkeys

The Circus is one of the Little Tramp’s most poignant roles, as well as one of  Charlie Chaplin’s funniest silent movies — €” for which he won a special Oscar. It begins with the Tramp attending a small circus that comes to town. He haphazardly bumps into a pickpocket, who hides his ill-gotten goods in the Tramp’s pocket. This soon leads to a marvelous chase, with the police chasing both the pickpocket and the Tramp. At one point the pickpocket and the Tramp are running in parallel …. And the Tramp politely tips his hat to the thief. After a chase through the hall of mirrors (which has to be seen). The Tramp accidentally runs into the circus’ center ring, where he is unintentionally hilarious. The circus owner/ringmaster auditions the Tramp as a new clown. Only to find out that he can’t be funny on purpose — €” only unintentionally.

The Spell (1977) starring Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt, Lelia Goldoni, Jack Colvin

The Spell

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The Spell (1977) starring Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt,  Lelia Goldoni,  Jack Colvin

The Spell is an NBC made-for-television movie, clearly, a rip-off of Carrie. However, it was actually slightly more than that. The Spell begins with a young teenager named Rita (Susan Myers,  Revenge of the Nerds) who is being picked on by her fellow high school students for being “fat” — i.e. not being anorexic like them. As they’re tormenting her, the Phy Ed teacher stands by and watches, doing absolutely nothing. This prompted one of my children to comment, “The teacher’s evil! She’s just standing there!” Actually, she’s more right than she knows, but more on that later.

The Beast Within (1982) starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Logan Ramsey, Don Gordon

The Beast Within

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The Beast Within (1982) starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Logan Ramsey, Don Gordon

In short,  The Beast Within is a 1980’s horror film that’s a mixture between  The Curse of the Werewolf and any number of Southern Gothic movies. It begins with a newlywed couple (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) on their honeymoon.  They have car trouble in the middle of nowhere, in the American South.  Filmed in Raymond, Missouri, for those who care about such things. While the husband goes to find help, the woman is assaulted and raped by an insect-like monster. She conceives a child from the rape and gives birth to seemingly-normal Michael (Paul Clemens). He appears to be a nice, average, handsome young man. Until he turns 17 …

City Lights, starring Charlie Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill

City Lights

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In City Lights, Charlie Chaplin plays the part of Charlie the little tramp, a homeless vagabond, who encounters a flower girl, only to discover that she’s blind. After Charlie rescues an inebriated rich man from committing suicide, the eccentric millionaire decides that Charlie is his best friend, and takes him out partying, gives him a car, etc. — only to totally forgot about him when he’s sober.

The Lost Weekend (1945) starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Howard Da Silva

The Lost Weekend

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The Lost Weekend (1945) starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Howard Da Silva

Although I’m aware of the actor Ray Milland (Starflight One, X: the Man with the X-Ray Eyes), I’m young enough to say that I’d never seen a truly great performance by him. That was before I watched  The Lost Weekend.

Five Star Final, starring Edward G. Robinson and Boris Karloff

Five Star Final

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Five Star Final (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson, Boris Karloff, directed by Mervyn LeRoy

buy-from-amazon  Five Star Final is a film that stands out primarily due to a great performance by Edward G. Robinson, who plays the part of newspaper editor Joe Randall, who is being pressured by his boss to increase the news circulation by running some sensationalistic news stories. Against his better judgement, he does so — and digs out the decades-old story of a convicted murderess, Nancy Voorhees (played well by  Frances Starr) — the murder was actually a justifiable homicide, but that doesn’t sell newspapers. In the intervening time, Voorhees has lived quietly, married and changed her last name, and raised a daughter — who is about to be married.

Claire Bloom and Charlie Chaplin in Limelight

Limelight

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Limelight (1952) starring Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Sydney Chaplin, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton

Limelight is a truly wonderful film; it swiftly became one of my favorites. In a nutshell, it’s the story of a once-great stage comedian (Calvero, a formerly great tramp clown, played by  Charlie Chaplin), who’s been failing in his career, and has become an alcoholic, who saves the life of  Terry, a despondent ballerina (played by  Claire Bloom) from a suicide attempt. The film is a juxtaposition of these two personalities, one who rallies & goes onward, the other who falls further.

The Kid, produced & directed by Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan

The Kid (1921) starring Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, Edna Purviance

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The Kid, produced & directed by Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan

Synopsis of Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid:

Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in an iconic photo from The Kid

The Kid was Charlie Chaplin’s first full-length movie. It, more than anything else to that date, made Chaplin a living legend. It took over a year to produce, and was an incredible success for Chaplin. The opening title reads: “A comedy with a smile — €and perhaps a tear.”  As a woman (Edna Purviance) leaves a charity hospital with a newborn.  She passes a church wedding, leaving her baby with a pleading note in a limousine. Then she goes off to commit suicide. She turns from suicide at the last moment to return to her child, only to find him missing. The limo had been stolen by thieves who dumped the baby by a garbage can.  Charlie the Tramp finds the baby. After failing to pass the child on to someone more suitable, raises the child himself.

The Swarm (1978) by Irwin Allen, starring Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray

The Swarm

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The Swarm (1978) by Irwin Allen, starring Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Olivia  de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray

buy-from-amazon Irwin Allen did quite a few disaster movies (The Poseidon Adventure, Airport) that were commercial, if not always critical, successes. The Swarm, in contrast, was a flop both commercially and critically — and a massive waste of some very good acting talent as well.

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