i luv cinema

Home Archives for Overlooked Films

By 4 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked: The Major and the Minor (1942)

Today’s pick, The Major and the Minor was only director Billy Wilder’s second Hollywood directorial credit and yet you can see in it some of the trademarks that he would constantly employ as a filmmaker – the combination of witty dialogue, farce and romantic entanglements.

picture-17

SYNOPSIS

A young woman tired of life in the big city decides to head back home to the Midwest. The problem is that the fare for the return trip has gone up so the last money she has is not enough for the train passage. Her solution is to disguise herself as a little girl, aged 12. Her presence draws the attention of military officer (Ray Milland), who agrees to chaperone the ‘minor’ safely to her mother in Iowa, under the condition that they first make a detour to a military academy where he works.

Yes, I know – it is TOTALLY unbelievable that Ginger Rogers could pass for a 12 year old, but that is the whole gag after all. In spite of this flight of fancy, I still enjoyed the film mainly because of the silliness of it all. It is also not hurt by the presence of notorious humorist Robert Benchley.

Besides I received a bit of a history lesson in that I learned all about the Maginot Line 😉

In the final analysis, this is yet another one of those classic Hollywood films that I cannot help but watch whenever I see it on my television screen.

Check out other titles on Todd Mason’s blog Sweet Freedom.

tumblr_m57rupFP7i1rsgumro1_400

By 12 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Rosewood (1997), directed by John Singleton

For many John Singleton broke new ground with his debut feature Boys N the Hood. While I admit I was quite taken with the film upon its release, it personally has not aged very well for me. The film has a luster to it (a la an afterschool special) that my advanced years would not expect with such a downtrodden subject matter.

However, with the release of 1997’s Rosewood, I think that Singleton has produced his best work to date.

SYNOPSIS

Rosewood is the true story of an almost unknown incident in a small Florida town, ‘Rosewood’ (town’s name was fictionalized for purposes of the film) – the town was inhabited almost entirely by law-abiding African- Americans, most of whom were prosperous, middle-class property landowners. On January 1, 1923, following the false testimony of a white woman against a black man, the town was obliterated by mobs of angry white residents from a neighboring community, who were seeking revenge.

The graphic details of how the inhabitants of Rosewood are on full display for the viewer in this film.

rosewood_1997_2

Although in a supporting role, the shining gem of Rosewood is Mr. Don Cheadle as the resilient Sylvester. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was not overly convinced by the performance of Ving Rhames as Mann. I think a main reason for this is he is clearly one of the characters who is clearly an invention of the filmmakers – his ‘larger than life” presence in the film at times felt like it took me out of the drama and action that was otherwise rooted in a reality.

The film also stars Jon Voight and Esther Rolle.

——–

Please make sure to check out other “overlooked” titles by visiting Todd Mason’s Sweet Freedom blog.

By 6 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)

The Boy Who Could Fly is a favorite childhood film, one that I have not thought about for YEARS.

MCDBOWH EC002

SYNOPSIS

After the suicide of her terminally ill father, 15-year old Milly (Lucy Deakins) becomes friends with Eric (Jay Underwood), who lost both of his parents to a plane crash. This common, tragic experience allows them to form a very close friendship as a way of coping.

The film also stars Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Savage, Colleen Dewhurst and Fred Gwynne.

I cannot tell you if this film had the most accurate depiction of someone with autism, but I remember being moved by the story, even though at the time I had no idea of how to relate to such a loss (especially for someone so young). I suspect that with the passing years and with the unfortunate loss of one of my parents, the lens through which I enjoy this film is slightly different.

 ———-

ILC fun fact: writer/director Nick Castle is also an actor, probably best known as Michael Myers – yeah, he of Halloween fame. Go figure.

Have you seen this film? What did you think about it?

———-

* Be sure to check out the other overlooked selections on Todd Mason’s Sweet Freedom blog.

totalfilm600movieblogs