st-shot
Joined Nov 2006
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John Drew Barrymore brings the vaunted thespian family name but not the chops to the The Big Night, a somewhat pedestrian noir that looks like it was made on the cheap in a warehouse studio. A dark night of the soul coming of age drama Barrymore borders on cringing from start to finish with a whiny unconvincing performance.
Georgie La Main (Barrymore) wrestles with being 17 as a nerd outcast. When his bar owner father (Preston Foster) is humiliated by a sadistic sports writer in front of his patrons, George gets his hand on a gun and vows vengeance. In a walk on the wild side he spends the night coming of age quickly in a series of seamy situations.
Barrymore is certainly no Dean and his teenage angst fails to resonate. Director Joe Losey, making his last film before being chased out of the US by "Red Hunters" seems distracted, his cast unenergized his sets and compositions lifeless and lacking ambience; the film's most exhilerating moment a drum solo in a jazz club. The Big Night offers little in return.
Georgie La Main (Barrymore) wrestles with being 17 as a nerd outcast. When his bar owner father (Preston Foster) is humiliated by a sadistic sports writer in front of his patrons, George gets his hand on a gun and vows vengeance. In a walk on the wild side he spends the night coming of age quickly in a series of seamy situations.
Barrymore is certainly no Dean and his teenage angst fails to resonate. Director Joe Losey, making his last film before being chased out of the US by "Red Hunters" seems distracted, his cast unenergized his sets and compositions lifeless and lacking ambience; the film's most exhilerating moment a drum solo in a jazz club. The Big Night offers little in return.
New York detectives Danny Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Rocco Bonaro (Harry Guardino) are hard nosed cops who bend the rules slightly when they find themselves unprofessionally distracted while trying to pinch what turns out to be a far more dangerous criminal than expected, who grabs their guns, escapes and shoot and kills a cop. A furious police commissioner (Henry Fonda) gives them 72 hours to catch the guy or face severe reprimand.
Director Don Siegel delivers his typical economical touch to Madigan as he makes his way from Harlem to Coney Island in search of leads but its a tired paint by the numbers pursuit with a TV show style and an absolutely dreadful, ill fitting music score that sounds like it was slapped on as an afterthought.
Widmark comes across fatigued and it shows in tiresome dialogues with his wife (Inger Stevens) and Fonda's commissioner in a series of drab confrontations.
There are a couple of tense, well edited shootouts but with Popeye Doyle in The French Connection and Siegel's own Dirty Harry upon the horizon as new sheriffs in town Madigan finds itself behind the times dealing with a Naked City scenario and style, nearly a decade previous, combined with lackluster performances that gives it an overriding anachronistic feel from the outset.
Director Don Siegel delivers his typical economical touch to Madigan as he makes his way from Harlem to Coney Island in search of leads but its a tired paint by the numbers pursuit with a TV show style and an absolutely dreadful, ill fitting music score that sounds like it was slapped on as an afterthought.
Widmark comes across fatigued and it shows in tiresome dialogues with his wife (Inger Stevens) and Fonda's commissioner in a series of drab confrontations.
There are a couple of tense, well edited shootouts but with Popeye Doyle in The French Connection and Siegel's own Dirty Harry upon the horizon as new sheriffs in town Madigan finds itself behind the times dealing with a Naked City scenario and style, nearly a decade previous, combined with lackluster performances that gives it an overriding anachronistic feel from the outset.
Burned at the stake by the Wooley clan in the 17th century then as was custom buried under an oak tree, as was custom, to keep their spirts lost among the roots, witch and warlock Jennifer ( Veronica Lake) and her father Daniel (Cecil Kellaway) escape into the 20th century when a lighting strike severs the tree and frees them. Dad immediately resumes his revenge on the Wooleys, descendant Jonathan (Fredric March ) in particular. Jen is definitely along for the ride but when she drinks a love potion her feelings change and she falls head over heels for him.
Rene Clair's screwball/fantasy hybrid is a nice breezy comedy that Lake's impishly adorable performance carries most of the way. Smacking of a touch and style of Sturges, March seems to have a more difficult time adjusting but a comically exasperated supporting cast (Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and especially Kellaway) with Lake leading the way make it a bewitching lighthearted comedy.
Rene Clair's screwball/fantasy hybrid is a nice breezy comedy that Lake's impishly adorable performance carries most of the way. Smacking of a touch and style of Sturges, March seems to have a more difficult time adjusting but a comically exasperated supporting cast (Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and especially Kellaway) with Lake leading the way make it a bewitching lighthearted comedy.
