| 07.10 |
The Train Robbers
Produced by John Wayne's son Michael, this rather overlooked western is a typical example of Support Your Local Sheriff! director Burt Kennedy's rumbustious view of frontier life. The Duke stars as a no-nonsense old-timer hired by grieving widow Ann-Margret to retrieve the gold stolen by her late husband. Wayne still cuts an imposing figure during the action sequences, and shows again that he was a better actor than even he gave himself credit for, especially during the scene where he reminisces about the gory glory days with Ben Johnson. Kennedy directs without frills, but a good western is often all the better for a broader approach.
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| 09.00 |
The Sea Chase
One of the more peculiar items on John Wayne's CV, this Second World War adventure sees him play a German sea captain. However, the real villain of the piece is first mate Lyle Bettger, whose murder of some defenceless fishermen prompts British naval officer David Farrar to pursue Wayne's freighter across the Pacific. Director John Farrow adopts a no-nonsense approach, but Wayne's dalliance with sultry passenger Lana Turner is too often allowed to slow up the action. However, the shark attack and the final battle are briskly staged and the rivalry between the Duke and Farrar gives the picture a little extra edge.
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11.10 |
Alias Jesse James
Bob Hope stars in yet another western spoof, this time playing an incompetent insurance salesman determined to retrieve the policy he unwittingly sold to outlaw Jesse James (Wendell Corey). Hope provides the jokes, while Rhonda Fleming supplies the pulchritude. The best moments are in the finale, though, when a host of cowboy stars (Roy Rogers, James Garner, Fess Parker) protect Bob from the killers.
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| 13.00 |
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Amiable James Garner polished up his TV Maverick persona in a wonderfully witty pair of cowboy satires directed by Burt Kennedy, who had secured his spurs by writing a cycle of Randolph Scott westerns. This isn't exactly a sequel to Support Your Local Sheriff!, except perhaps in tone, but it's equally as funny, as conman Garner passes himself off as a deadly gunman. Bumbling Jack Elam walks away with the movie as Garner's buddy and delivers one of the funniest last lines in American screen comedy. The rest of the cast is handpicked, ranging from WC Fields's put-upon stooge Grady Sutton to TV's The Rifleman himself, Chuck Connors. One to cherish - a genuine side-splitting treat.
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| 15.00 |
Red River
This magnificent western is one of the greatest achievements of American cinema. Basing his film on co-screenwriter Borden Chase's novel, producer/director Howard Hawks created a rich masterpiece that repays frequent viewings. Set after the Civil War, it follows the journey of a massive cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. Hawks is aided by arguably John Wayne's finest performance (as uncompromising cattle boss Tom Dunson), and Wayne is matched by young Montgomery Clift (in a star-making role as Matthew Garth, Dunson's fast-on-the-draw ward). This is Hollywood film-making at its highest level, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin and photography by Russell Harlan that enhances and embellishes the text, it's not to be missed.
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| 17.15 |
Tortilla Soup
The showboating of a miscast Raquel Welch and an over-abundance of feel-good elements are the only ingredients to sour this flavoursome remake of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman. Transposing the scene to a Los Angeles restaurant, the action turns around Hector Elizondo, a chef with failing taste buds. He has a trio of temperamental daughters: sanctimonious teacher Elizabeth Peņa, firebrand foodie Jacqueline Obradors and dreamer Tamara Mello. Spanish director Maria Ripoll could have added a pinch more social spice and a little less saccharin to the scenes of sibling bonding, but the performances are splendid and the cooking sequences will have you salivating.
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| 19.10 |
Billy Two Hats
An example of how Hollywood's elder statesmen (here Gregory Peck) tried to connect with the new "youth" audience of the time by co-starring with fresh talent, in this case Desi Arnaz Jr, best known for being the son of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. It's a British-financed western about a bungled robbery, filmed in Israel, which looks like Spain pretending to be New Mexico. Co-produced by Norman Jewison with a screenplay by talented Alan Sharp, the writer of Ulzana's Raid, Night Moves and Rob Roy, it has some decent action sequences and the novelty of the usually presidential Peck ostensibly playing a baddie.
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| 21.00 |
Jinxed!
It was a disaster waiting to happen when Bette Midler, brashest of song-belters, teamed with Don Siegel, briskest of action directors. Off-screen squabbles didn't help this story of a lucky gambler's girl who ropes in Reno croupier Ken Wahl to make the game of blackjack a lethal deal for her partner. Rip Torn, as the gambler, offers a token portrait of sadistic seediness, but what should have been a darkly comic take on The Postman Always Rings Twice is an idea that went sadly awry. The title is the best comment.
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| 23.00 |
Without Limits
Co-produced by Tom Cruise, this is the tragic tale of American runner Steve Prefontaine, who came close to winning gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics, only to die in a car crash three years later. One suspects Cruise would have taken the role if he was ten years younger, but instead the honours go to rather uninteresting Inventing the Abbotts star Billy Crudup. It's Donald Sutherland who steals the show, however, playing Prefontaine's coach Bill Bowerman, known for the running shoes he designed for his team and as the man who invented Nike trainers. Robin Williams's co-star in Patch Adams, Monica Potter, gets the thankless task of playing the underwritten love interest, and she, like everyone else, is upstaged by the lovingly filmed atheletic scenes, which successfully manage to capture the unconventional qualities of Prefontaine's running.
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