Change Your Image
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Served as Chairman, New York Film Critics Circle: 1993/94.
Favorite interviews were with: Michael Douglas, Sophia Loren, DeForest Kelley, Joan Chen, Joe Henderson, Ismail Merchant, Klaus Kinski, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Spike Lee, Malcolm McDowell, Zoe Lund, Melvin Van Peebles, Ultra Violet, Wolfgang Petersen, Claudia Cardinale, Serge Silberman, Margarethe von Trotta, Alec Guinness, Leonard Nimoy, Susan George, Joseph Losey, Gale Anne Hurd, Dennis Hopper, Peter Greenaway, Katt Shea, Ken Russell, Maggie Greenwald, Jim Jarmusch, Peter Brook, Jurgen Prochnow, Andy Warhol, Judy Davis, Chuck Vincent, Fred Zinnemann, Wim Wenders, Max Von Sydow, Michael Moore, Terry Gilliam, Rita Jenrette, Karen Lynn Gorney, Bruce Beresford, Jack Thompson, Russ Meyer, Sam Raimi, Abel Ferrara, John Sayles, William Greaves, Nino Manfredi, Lee Van Cleef, Michael Cuscuna, Bille August, Jewel Shepard, Andy Sidaris, Michel Deville, Claude Sautet, Claude Lelouch, Alfonso Arau, Alan Parker, Reinhard Hauff, Traci Lords, Jim Jarmusch, Martha Coolidge, Candida Royalle, Giuseppe Tornatore, Edward James Olmos, Paul Hogan, John Mackenzie, Peter Hyams, Jennifer Beals,, Adrian Lyne, Samuel Fuller, Dario Argento, James Toback, Lasse Hallstrom, Fred Williamson, Gabriel Axel, Joe Bastianich, Aaron Sanchez, Danny Meyer, Steve Hanson, Matthew Kenney, Douglas Rodriguez, Simon Oren, Stanley Donen, Lindsay Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Edward Pressman, Harold Becker, Larry Cohen, James Ivory, Jack O'Connell, Michael Phillips, Kevin McClory, Jackie Mason, Joan O'Brien, Stanley Donen, Joseph B. Vasquez, Don Bluth, William Lustig, Al Goldstein, Simon Wincer, Valeria Cavalli, Dave Fishelson, Lizzie Borden, Roberta Findlay, Rob Cohen, Doris Wishman, Robert Tapert, Bruce Campbell, Bill Cosby, Pasquale Squitieri, Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Tim Kincaid, Joel M. Reed, Gregory Dark, T.L. Lankford, Fred Olen Ray, Victoria Paige Meyerink, Lawrence D. Foldes, Rick Marx & Ted V. Mikels
Reviews
Route 66: From an Enchantress Fleeing (1962)
A misguided story
The subject of "Momism", introduced by novelist Philip Wylie way back in 1942, is the starting point for an oddball story by Abram Ginnes, a writer who, after being Blacklisted in the '50s, wrote for "Naked City". Stirling Silliphant was obviously intrigued by this arcane subject matter, and clumsily embraces it for this filler episode of "Route 66" during Maharis's unfortunate absence.
Early in the episode, which deals rather bluntly with the notion of women dominating and thereby harming men, there is a moment I enjoyed fleetingly.
As the central character, an eccentric inventor Arthur O'Connell, throws water on the whole notion of Artificial Intelligence, stating that his mechanical inventions (including a Rube Goldberg-type "Love Machine") cannot think or create. This scene alone shows how dated Silliphant's segment is.
So as Milner becomes involved romantically with beautiful Anne Helm (she's the bright spot here), and works for her mom June VIncent (a dentist to very young kids) and searches among all-male retreats and cults for her errant hubby O'Connell, it seems like a silly version of the Battle of the Sexes.
Story makes fun of O'Connell, but unfortunately, a forced happy ending has June subjugating herself to him, a misogynistic conclusion.
Four Star Playhouse: Meet McGraw (1954)
Familiar tough guy private dick
The writing team of Gwen & John Bagni cover all the private eye cliches in this entertaining if corny Four Star Playhouse segment of a failed pilot for a Frank Lovejoy series.
What makes it fun, besides the fine performances, is the concentrated format, covering an entire movie arc in just 25 minutes of running time. McGraw's trials and tribulations in a case starring film noir veteran Audrey Totter add up to the usual "don't be the fall guy" routine, enlivened by a couple of plot twists and some very snappy dialogue. It's not all that different from a satirical sketch taking off on the genre: it's easy to imagine Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca or Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman in the roles in a send-up.
Lovejoy does a good, if effortless, job and Totter is fun, right up to her bugeyed finale.
Furankenshutain tai Chitei Kaijû Baragon (1965)
Johnny Yuma goes to Japan
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Ishiro Honda; Produced by , for Toho; Released in America by Woolner Brothers Pictures. Screenplay by Tomoyuki Tanaka; Photography by Hajime Koizumi; Edited by Ryohei Fujii; Music by Akira Ikufube. Starring: Nick Adams, Tadao Takashima, Kumi Mizuno, Koji Furuhata and Takashi Shimura.
Another poor latter-day Japanese monster flick, with the novelty of Nick Adams' presence. Ridiculous plot has the original Frankenstein's heart sent to Hiroshima during World War II for experimentation concerning its immortality. After the A-blast the heart mysteriously grows to be a Caucasian boy (played by a Japanese actor with Frankenstein monster makeup) who is studied by Nick and grows larger and larger. The film's general technique has much in common with the original "King Kong", but adds a lot of silliness. Such as Frank's penchant for eating dogs, plus the mystery of his crawling hand which somehow remains alive and growing apart from his body, not to mention an oversize prehistoric reptile refugee from Godzilla films.
Science Fiction Theatre: Death at My Fingertips (1956)
1956 CSI
This episode concerns how science intersects with law enforcement, and presents the story in the form of a police procedural. Unfortunately, it lacks the inspiration of the classic story by Philip Dick filmed as "Minority Report" with Tom Cruise (a story published coincidentally the same year as this "Science Fiction Theatre" segment).
The story of a murder in which fingeprint evidence points to another scidentist revolves around experiments to create synthetic human flesh that can duplicate someone's fingerprints. The suspect's fiancee June Lockhart does the research to prove her man's innocence, and the actual culprit is caught in a lousy ending.
Episode earns a D for dullness. The awe and wonder of top-notch science fiction like "Minority Report" is nowhere evident here.
Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961)
Take that, Verne!
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed and Screenplay by Nathan Juran; Produced by Bernard Woolner, for Woolner Brothers Pictures. Photography by Jacques Marquette; Edited by Rex Lipton; Music by Hal Borne; Stop-Motion Animation by Jim Danforth. Starring: Mala Powers, Marshall Thompson; Douglas Kennedy, James Lanphier, Robert Gillette and Felippe Biriel.
Extremely poor science fiction adventure lifted from a Jules Verne story. Our heroes travel along the African continent in a balloon and have numerous scrapes with danger, against poorly processed stock footage.
The Frozen Dead (1966)
Ludicrous pastiche
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Screenplay, Directed and Produced by Herbert J. Leder, for Warner Brothers. Photography by Davis Boulton; Edited by Tom Simpson; Music by Don Banks. Starring: Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Philip Gilbert, Karel Stepanek, Kathleen Breck, Alan Tilvers, Basil Henson and Oliver MacGreevy.
Not much thought went into this Herbert J. Leder special, but the underlying premises are quite interesting. 1500 leading Nazis were frozen in 1945 and German scientist Dana is experimenting on perfecting a way of successfully reanimating them. Unfortunately, rather than develop this plot, auteur Leder decides to pastiche a whole legion of science fiction and horror genres, featuring a mad scientist and his assistant in his lab, young thing and a buddy hunting for a missing friend, keeping a head alive action, face behind the mask business, clairvoyant discovery of facts via dreams, and zombie-like abortive guinea pig folks hanging around.
Logic is wholly absent as Leder refuses to make his story credible in a record-breaking bit of cinema cliche-mongering. Leder has well-endowed Anna Palk traipsing around in a white nightgown for three separate nights; on the fourth night she sleepwalks in a pink nightgown! We never return to the original teaser plotline, and the ending is even more foolish than expected.
Lioness: Beware the Old Soldier (2024)
Taylor: Action Man
To heavily paraphrase Mel Brooks: "It's good to be Taylor Sheridan". Television's hottest writer-producer wrote himself into the lead role in the Second Season kickoff of "Lioness", and his direction of the concise action scenes is top-notch.
Of course, the emotional center of the show remains safely in Zoe Saldana's character, put under enormous pressure (as usual) to save the day, at the expense of her family life and sanity. In this case, it's rescuing a kidnapped congresswoman shanghaied to Mexico - I would have cast photogenic AOC as the lady in bondage, but that's just me.
Taylor on screen reminded me of Tom Laughlin as the iconic "Billy Jack" in the 1970s, and of course the highly independent Laughlin was also a hyphenate who had Wellesian total control over his productions. Perhaps Taylor could resurrect the mythic Billy Jack character for a new generation. Laughlin's hubris had him ending up running in several campaigns for president - I sure hope Taylor doesn't!
Homeowners Association (2024)
Mighty neighborly
Alex Isadora makes a strong impression in the MILF sweepstakes in "Homeowners Association", a playful Missa X adventure in suburbia, where neighbors can overcome their petty antagonisms and get to know each other better through sex.
Alex is quite uppity at first. Reading the riot act to new neighbor Ryan Driller about his pretty stepdaughter's nude sunbathing, of which the locals do not approve. Ryan stands by his daughter (played by Addison Vodka), and eventually the matter seems settled, but Alex is not prepared for the seductive powers of Eve and her dad.
The resulting threesome is one hot XXX scene, with both actresses excelling as they share Driller's dick and satisfy each other in Sapphic fashion. Young beauty Addison is fast becoming a fan favorite, and the snappy dialogue provided by both Missa X and Maddy Burton adds to the fun.
Shh! Don't Let Them Hear! (2024)
A second helping
The team of newbies Lola Aiko and Bianca Bangs return to Allherluv playing stepsisters for the second time, after turning the fans on several months ago in "Something to Do".
This time around, Lola has returned from college only to find her sister occupying her bed -it turns out that Lola's mom let Bianca have it during her absence. But she's able to overomc her natural possessiveness, and soon they're getting on famously, and willing to take their relationship a giant step further.
The scene works thanks to the refreshingly natural beauty of these new talents, who, not surprisingly, are older and far more experienced in Sapphic sex than they look. Director Craven Moorehead gets the best out of his players, and I'd bet this won't be the last time Missa X gives them a casting call.
Bridal Exposure (2024)
One new, one regurgitated
Lauren Phillips and her assistant Izzy Wilde have set up a display of sex toys for sale at a Bridal products convention and Izzy attempts to serve prospective customer Whitney Wright. Wright flirts outrageously and demands a demo of a dildo, but then drops the toy on the floor as an excuse to scoot under the table and give trans-female Izzy a blow-job.
They're caught in the act by returning boss Lauren, and quickly a lesbian threesome results with Lauren dominant. Many positions later, Izzy fails to deliver the customary cum shot, though she does maintain an erect cock throughout the scene.
No script credit here, for obvious reasons, while director Stella doesn't give her cast any direction, evidenced by the actresses occasionally looking at the camera by mistake. Whitney, wearing a white wedding dress and veil, is very glamorously styled, while Izzy looks more mature than before, sporting new, big breasts but still wearing her jail-bait role braces on her teeth.
Danger Man: The Nurse (1960)
Quite suspenseful
Pat's able to outwit the bad guys in this highly suspenseful tale of escape, set in the Middle East (but unconvincingly shot mainly on studio sets,even for exterior shots).
His exceedingly difficult task is to escort the infant king of a Middle Eastern nation under attack by rebels, who have just assassinated the 10 month-old child's dad, the king. Everyone is armed except for Pat, but as he always manages to do, he outwits them and save the kid as well as his pretty Scots nurse (played nicely by Eileen Moore).
Everybody (except for her) is very sneaky and unreliable, not only the Arabs but also UK citizen Jack MacGowran, who is working for a double-dealing local Mukhtar. I enjoyed the ending, which as usual ties up the show swiftly and efficiently.
Bad Girls 6: Ridin' Into Town (1995)
Tough babes
Paul Norman specialized in offbeat porn movies (e.g., "Edward Penishands"), and this time he spotlights a girl biker gang, with pretty good results.
First off, it's fun watching usually glamorous porn stars Celeste and Jeanna Fine in their black leather jackets as tough bikers, fighting amongst themselves. A lovely blonde, Yvonne, is with them as the stereotyped biker girl, and early in the movie the butch babes gang-bang her as late-night entertainment around the campfire.
More fun occurs when they go up against some would-be tough guys, including a cute moment when Jeanna beats up Bud Lee after Lee tries to manhandle Yvonne (Lee is the production manager and guest actor, not directing this Vivid project).
Unfortunately, after plenty of sex scenes, the movie loses gas and meanders in the last half, where Norman could have benefited from hiring a professional screenwriter rather than doing it himself.
Dreams (1995)
Highly erotic sci-fi
Kaitlyn Ashley and Jeanna Fine are terrific in this ambitious VCA sci-fi feature by Stuart Canterbury. Its starry cast and ample production values make for a visually imaginative erotic voyage.
Jeanna Fine is surprisingly convincing as a research scientist, with college professor Joey Silvera her test subject for dream explorations in the lab. He is put into what looks like a machine to do CT scans. Joey is also having erotic dreams (already, before testing) of his buxom student Kaitlyn Ashley, and in the course of the movie we're treated to eight full-length sex scenes and plenty of erotic fetish imagery, all with a 90-minute running time (thanks to the concise approach to XXX content back in the day).
Fine is believable in her lab coat, wearing glasses and acting the part, but when she puts herself into the dream experiment, she fantasizes herself (in blonde wig) making love to Vince Vouyer as Joe DiMaggio in his Yankees uniform!
There are frightening moments here, including the surprise ending, but director Canterbury is careful to put the sex first, avoiding most of the pitfalls of making a would-be crossover porn/mainstream genre film.
Science Fiction Theatre: Beyond (1955)
A sober approach
The premiere of this ground-breaking science-fiction TV series avoids the sensationalism that almost always accompanies programming about UFOs and instead sets a standard for a realistic approach instead. Add in the highly unusual decision to film the show in color way back in 1955 (I didn't watch TV on a color set until a decade later) adds to the quality.
Buttressed by a fine supporting cast, William Lundigan is quite earnest as the test pilot who hit Mach 2 and reported live that a UFO was moving parallel to his ship, only to be disbelieved by the military brass. The resulting investigation, which includes his wife Ellen Drew testifying on his behalf after she interviewed a science expert on the subject, turns out with a surprise ending, not just gee whiz! Time, but rather food for thought.
Anal Intruder 9: The Butt from Another Planet (1995)
Amusing and arousing sci-fi parody
Its title signals total schlock, but thanks to talented actress-director Teri Diver and her busty, sexy co-stars it's a high-quality porn comedy.
Tony Tedeschi plays Shlong and Kim Chambers is Boulder in a light spoofing of "The X-Files". They find nude Jordan Lee mumbling incoherently with her butt high in the air, and the poor girl is a victim of space alien butt-f*cking.
Two aliens have invaded, Tom Chapman and Nikki Sinn, who are busily draining energy from humans by having anal sex with them. Nikki is perfect casting for the role given her career as an anal sex Queen, and her full-body green paint job has her ready to audition for "Wicked", the play, not the porn label.
In flashback, director Diver has a 3-way with Jordan and Chapman, the one that resulted in Jordan losing her mind. Somehow with this nonsense the story results in a sort of happy ending.
Sci-fi porn is popular, and in this case worthwhile.
Hardcore (1994)
Super Nikki Dial romance by Bud Lee
Nikki Dial is scrumptious playing dual roles in "Hardcore", a top-notch Vivid Video directed by Bud Lee and written by the fine actor Richard Pacheco (who is not in the cast). It's far better than usual from VV.
Nikki plays a busy porn star Dolly whose agent Tony Tedeschi has been working her too hard. She needs a vacation, and gets lucky when a doppelganger shows up at her door answering an ad for a job as Nikki's stand-in, and she's hired, to pretend to be Dolly and fool Tedeschi while Nikki's away attending her friend Dyanna Lauren's wedding out in the wilds.
It's a simple story, but works well to show the porn biz from an insider's point-of-view, with both Bud Lee and top '90s director Nic Cramer having cameo roles as film directors (natch). Ron Jeremy also cameos as a co-star for the fake Dolly whose big dick scares her. In a happy ending, she gets Tedeschi to play the role himself and everybody lives happily ever after.
The gals look terrific, including Katilyn Ashley as a fluffer (who surprisingly uses anal sex to help get stud Alex Sanders ready for his cum shot), and a romantic Barry Boxx score adds to the show's success.
Rebel Without a Condom (1996)
Mild exercise in nostalgia
Cash Markman delivers an underwhelming nostalgia trip back to 1957, only its title spoofing the James Dean classic movie. Fake sets and weak casting complement the insipid voice-over narration from star Selena.
The rebel is Michael J. Cox wearing his black leather jacket. He is bullied and beaten up by his male co-stars (including Brian Surewood whos is billed as just "Sin" in the credits) until finally hooking up with Selena in the final reel and taking her away from her stultifying existence in the small town of Applewood.
Selena is unimpressive in the lead role, outshone easily in the sexiness department by busy Randi Storm. Superstar of the future Stephanie Swift is wasted in the supporting cast. Cox does not wear a condom, but in another sex scene, Michael Hurt does.
NCIS: Origins: Sick as Our Secrets (2024)
Keeping it too close to the vest
Caleb Foote as Agent 'Randy' takes center stage in this segment, all about keeping secrets, as Mark Harmon's helpful voiceover reinforces the emotional harm caused by being unable to share one's psychological problems with others, Gibbs' major problem.
Randy and Gibbs team up on a protective detail looking after a priest (Jonah Wharton, who previously guested in other roles on sister NCIS series), who was targeted for murder, but a fellow priest was killed in his place. Plot revolves around a familiar story device: Wharton knows via the confessional who the killer is but cannot break the sacramental seal and tell our heroes his identity.
Series staff writers Stephen Day and Daniel Egbert do a yeoman job of juggling the main case story with necessary featuring of the cast of regulars, adding to their personalities (so important in the early launching of a new show). Michael Harney impresses with his gravitas in helping the story advance, and he also reveals that he was an army priest during the Korean War. Franks and femme lead Mariel Molino (as Agent Dominguez) continue to explore their complicated relationship.
But it is Caleb as Randy who shines, not only in action sequences, but in the key subplot relating to his involvement in the protective detail that failed to save the lives of Gibbs' family. This episode also permits more of an ensemble focus, with less emphasis or screen time devoted to GIbbs & Franks than usual.
Cheating American Style (1988)
Embarrassingly poor PT sicom
This takeoff on "Love -American Style" has director Paul Thomas delivering a low-low budget sitcom that's strictly unfunny. It contrasts badly with the decent (to big) budget Vivid features he's best known for making years later.
Rickety structure has groom to be Jerry Butler in a park, fazed by his best man telling him that the lovely bride (April West) had sex with him on an elevator (we get to see that later in a flashback). Jerry wanders around aimlessly in the park, suddenly befriended by a bum played by director Paul Thomas.
The bum regales him with tales of cheating, trying to cheer Jerry up, so we watch boring but brief sex vignettes, simulating the nonsense of the TV sitcom. Ultimately the bum convinces Jerry to ignore April's cheating and marry her anyway. Confusing matters, the supporting actors play multiple roles.
I watched a watered-down (softcore angles, no money shots) version created for cable-tv use that ran about 10 minutes shorter than the XXX version. Either way, the tons of dialogue and static "home movie" stagings are very poor, sort of a 1988 version of the one-day wonder porn made about 20 years earlier. It's so cheap looking one assumes that a nearly1:1 shooting ratio was employed, with crummy sets (especially for sex on a ridiculously fake-looking subway car).
Strange Curves (1990)
Superb suspenser by John Leslie
From 1988 through 1994, John Leslie directed some truly great Adult movies, culminating in his all-time classic "The Dog Walker". Then, with only a couple of exceptions ("Briana Love" and "Bad Habits"), he turned his back on storytelling and instead shot well over a hundred mindless gonzo videos of zero merit. "Strange Curves" is a fine example of his quality approach to making real movies that are not mere collections of explicit sex footage.
Twice, the characters mention Hitchcock's Patricia Highsmith classic "Strangers on a Train", and Leslie's screenplay, co-written by Nick Hunter, skillfully takes off on that original with very fine twists of its own. What makes it work is that, unlike so many porn movies, the characters' actions are quite believable, and the situations, however contrivded, are convincing.
Scott Irish is cast in the Robert Walker role, planning the perfect murder to get rid of his beautiful sister played by April West, using the famous gimmick of "trading murders" with unsuspecting dupe Joey Silvera, who is stuck with beautiful but mean wife Victoria Paris who refuses to give him a divorce and makes his life miserable. Irish, cast against type as a cool yet psychotic villain, gives a terrific performance, while Silvera is extremely sympathetic and easy for the viewer to identify with, quite a switch from his usual over-the-top acting.
Leslie's tight direction does not have any filler, with the sex scenes kept concise, unlike subsequent story-porn where 30-minute "pauses" for XXX action always ruin the pacing and make the story content seem extraneous. Final reel twists are superb and unexpected.
Victoria Paris is fine in a heavy role (also heavy on the sex), eclipsed by a fabulous career-peak performance by April West as Irish's sister.
Yellowstone: Counting Coup (2024)
Yellowstone abides
Plotlines move forward now, with cast dealing with the future of the ranch. Rip sets about selling all their horses, to raise money toward paying their tax burden. Taylor Sheridan gets a decent acting role as the hard-nosed man in charge of the horses, who breaks the bad news about Dutton's demise to Jimmy.
In this episode, Taylor as writer takes the opportunity to reset the show's focus to include the ensemble cast, not just the immediate issues facing the lead players. In this sense, we get to see that Yellowstone, despite its long family history (as amplified in the spinoff series "1883" and "1923") is not just about the Duttons but also the greater family of workers, friends, and even enemies of the legendary ranch.
Oldtimer Lloyd is still dealing with the crazy 3-year-old horse nicknamed Maneater, to be sold off to Mexico in a crucial subplot, which leads to a major plot twist, upping the show's emotional stakes - it's not just about what happens to the Duttons.
Overall, Sheridan's sense of the end of an era is expressed by the cast's resignation to their fate, while Beth and Kayce prepare to fight as best they can for Yellowstone's future.
The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
Terrific drama
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Robert Florey, for Columbia Pictures. Screenplay by Paul Jarrico and Allen Vincent; Photography by Franz Planer; Edited by Charles Nelson; Musical Director: Morris Stoloff. Starring: Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe, George E. Stone, John Tyrrell and Al Seymour.
Horror film in which all the terror is inflicted upon the monster-figure, rather than created by him. Lorre plays a Hungarian immigrant watchmaker; just when things appear to be looking up, disaster strikes him: his face horribly scarred by a fire. This sympathetic figure is shunned everywhere and discriminated against. A frightening portrayal of the treatment accorded by society to an "outsider" is presented. Peter is befriended by a small-time crook, and he turns to crime to pay for plastic surgery, but to no avail. He falls in love with a blind girl, but again, as things are going well, ironic tragedy intervenes. This film is a brilliant investigation of the horrors experienced by an unfortunate man.
Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster (1965)
Junky monster mash
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Robert Gaffney; Produced by Robert McCarty, for Allied Artists release. Story by George Garrett; Photography by Saul Midwall; Edited by Lawrence Keating. Starring: Marilyn Hanold, James Karen, David Kerman, Nancy Marshall, Robert Reilly and Lou Cutell.
1960s monster open, with the USA copying the Japanese this time. It's a horror film in the "First Man into Space" groove, as astronaut Frankenstein comes back to Earth one vertical half of his body horribly disfigured, and he must do battle with an ugly alien, with the globe's safety in the balance. Beach party scenes are thrown in as padding. Frank beats off "Mull", much to the dismay of the creature's exotic Mistress, Princess Marcuzan.
Landman: The Sting of Second Chances (2024)
The women of 'Landman'
With his trademark colorful dialogue and clever dramatics, Taylor Sheridan turns his focus to the ladies in this segment, fleshing out some strong personalities hovering around our hero Billy Bob.
Kayla Wallace's corporate lawyer is one tough cookie, dominating the first part of the episode as she puts an array of male chauvinists in their place. Just when it seemed that she would become Thornton's romantic interest, Wallace smoothly cedes that role back to his ex-wife Ali Larter, whose comedic talent is balanced by dramatic moments, all while their daughter Michelle Randolph plays off them beautifully.
In concise fashion, we witness the growth of Billy Bob's laconic son Jacob Lofland as he proves his mettle in a dangerous job up on the oil rig with a new team, and the segment ends by setting up the promise of a "forbidden" romance for him with lovely Paulina Chavez.
Studio One: A Dead Ringer (1958)
Poor script + affected acting = turgid TV play
The hack writing team of Henry & Madeline Misrock took a James Hadley Chase crime story and adapted it into this truly awful episode of "Studio One".
Gig Young stars with smugness personified as a husband who plans the perfect murder to kill his wife of 15 years (Marguerite Chapman) for his money. With the cast, especially Chapman, reciting their lines as emphatically as if they were on stage, attempting to communicate with the last row patrons in a theater, the show plods along predictably until the final reels, when on cue his plans go awry. A dated reference to J. Fred Muggs (the chimpanzee) on the "Today Show" is used to provide Young with an alibi for murder -a ridiculous plot gimmick that goes nowhere.
The Misrocks have no ear for dialogue, which is utterly artificial when read aloud. The details of how Young's plans are undone are confusing, making the suspense later in the play disappear -it makes no sense at all. We are left with an anticlimax and the feeling of being hoodwinked -if there were Razzie awards for lousy mystery writing this one would win uncontested.
Elizabeth Montgomery (Young's real-life wife when this was broadcast) is lovely as his sister-in-law who becomes his second wife, boding well for her eventual TV stardom in "Bewitched".