the reel dope

Movie reviews for: The Matchmaker, The Big Country, and Rock-a-Bye Baby.

the reel dope

Movie reviews for: Bye Bye Birdie, The Ugly American, and Dr. No.

the reel dope

 

Movie reviews for: The Sword in the Stone, The Cardinal, and Charade

the reel dope

Movie reviews for: The Wheeler Dealers, Lillies of the Field, The Haunting, and Beach Party.

ten little indians

 

the year: 1965

 

the genre: mystery

 

 

the cast: Hugh O'Brian (Hugh Lombard); Shirley Eaton (Ann Clyde); Fabian (Mike Raven); Leo Genn (General Mandrake); Stanley Holloway (William Blore); Wilfrid Hyde-White (Judge Cannon); Daliah Lavi (Ilona Bergen); Dennis Price (Dr. Armstrong); Marianne Hoppe (Frau Grohmann); Mario Adorf (Herr Grohmann)

 

 

the plot: One of Agatha Christie's best (with a few liberties taken).  A group of strangers, ten in all, are invited by a Mr. Owens to spend a weekend at his remote mountaintop home. After dinner, they learn via a tape recording that they've been invited to the house to pay for their crimes. The accusations are well-founded and, unable to leave the house, the guests are being killed off one by one. The private detective in the group thinks that their host is likely hiding in the house somewhere. Judge Arthur Cannon thinks the killer is a member of the group and he proves to be correct.

 

 

 

don't miss: all the wonderful screaming by Frau Grohmann.  Good thing she was killed off pretty quickly.  And the black and white is a fun touch, too.

 

 

listen for: "How utterly marvelous! You all came to a house party without knowing your host!"
"Well, what about you, Miss Bergen"
"Darling, it happens to me all the time!"
 

 

did you know: I felt much better when I realized that Fabian is *not* Fabio. 

 

 

extra bonus points: if you recognize the two actors from My Fair Lady. 

 

 

also listen for: "Drop dead!"  "That's not funny."

 

 

 

thunderbird 6

the year: 1968

the plot: The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the world. Against backdrops including the Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx, Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin fight the hijackers from on-board, while the rest of the team tries to stop the airship crashing into a missile silo.

don't miss: the Wistle Stop Inn.  Miniatures with miniatures.  Boy, it must have been fun working on this movie!

did you know: the "Ball Room" set on Sky Ship 1 included over 600 painted ping pong balls. The set caught fire under the hot studio lights and had to be completely rebuilt.

listen for: "Now, let's have a rundown on the International Rescue craft. So far, there are five. Thunderbird 1: sleek, first and fast. Thunderbird 2: giant transporter. Carries all the rescue gear to the danger zone. Thunderbird 3: designed for space rescue. Thunderbird 4: capable of withstanding the pressure of the depths. Thunderbird 5: space monitor. Capable of receiving or intercepting distress calls from any part of the world. And I'm telling you, Brains, in no uncertain terms, that we now need a Thunderbird 6.

extra bonus points: if you know why it's funny when Virgil says, "I've got a tiger in my tank."

I stumbled across this one Saturday morning in the not too distant past, and it was so strangely bizarre...well, I just couldn't turn away.  By the time it was over, I was a fan.  How have I missed this?!?   I guess there was a tv show and at least one other full-length movie.  Miss Penelope's pink car is pretty impressive. 

best of: spring break

(according to the movies...notice any similarities?)

Where the Boys Are


Palm Springs Weekend


Girl Happy


Clambake


Ride the Wild Surf

come fly with me

the year: 1963

the genre: comedy


the cast: Dolores Hart (Donna Stuart); Hugh O'Brien (First Officer Ray Winsley); Karl Boehm (Baron Franz Von Elzingen)' Pamel Tiffin (Carol Brewster); Lois Nettleton (Hilda "Bergie" Bergstrom)


the plot: Classic schmaltz. Three stewardesses working for Polar Atlantic Airways, make regular flights between New York and Paris or Vienna. Along the way, one meets an impoverished Austrian baron who turns out to be a diamond smuggler. Another, a "Southern belle", develops a crush on the first officer of the airplane even though she takes issue with his morals. The third gets noticed by a multi-millionaire widower from Texas.


don't miss: how Miss Brewster aids in averting the cavetation.



extra bonus points: if you know what Dolores Hunt did with the rest of her life.


did you know: that the title of this film was originally Champagne Flight.



watch the trailer here.

the reel dope

tammy and the doctor

the year: 1963

the genre: comedy


the cast: Sandra Dee (Tammy); Peter Fonda (Dr. Mark Cheswick); Beulah Bondi (Annie Call); Reginald Owen (Jason Tripp); Alice Pearce (Millie Baxter)


the plot: When Mrs. Call's heart condition acts up, Tammy tags along in the trip to Los Angeles for the surgery. Since there are no guest quarters in the hospital, Tammy gets a job in the hospital as a nurse's assistant, and catches the attention of handsome young resident Dr. Cheswick.


count: how many times Tammy ends up back with custodial duties.



don't miss: Reginald Owen as Mr. Tripp - you may recognize him as Admiral Boom from Mary Poppins.



extra bonus points: if you know why smarmy Dr. Hassler (below, left) looks familiar.



did you know: when Tammy mixes up ID bracelets on the babies in the nursery, she identifies one of them as "Bernard Schwartz", the real name of Tony Curtis, then one of Universal's biggest stars.

tammy tell me true

the year: 1961

the genre: comedy


the cast: Sandra Dee (Tammy); John Gavin (Tom Freeman); Beulah Bondi (Mrs. Annie Call)


the plot: Heartbroken because Pete (who's away at college) fails to answer her letters, Tammy decides to go to college herself. After moving the Ellen B. downriver to Seminola College, she gains admission as a special student and, to pay her expenses, takes a job as companion to Mrs. Call, a wealthy eccentric.



don't miss: Stefanie Powers' screen debut.

the jungle book

the year: 1967

the genre: animated


the plot: Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince the boy Mowgli to leave the jungle for human civilization.


did you know: that when Gregory Peck was the President of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science, he tried his hardest to get a full-length animated feature film (most notably the The Jungle Book) not only nominated for Best Picture Academy Award but actually win the award. He resigned as President in 1970 when other members didn't agree with him about animated films being nominated for the award. It would be over 20 years later before the Academy would reconsider, allowing Beauty and the Beast to be nominated.


extra bonus points: if you know why the Beatles ended up not voicing The Vultures as suggested by their manager.


don't miss: "I Wanna Be Like You" with Louis Prima and Phil Harris' off the cuff scatting. Because of their busy band schedules, they recorded the song separately.