Tag Archives: Eddie Albert

1979 Films, Adventure, Disaster, Ed Begley Jr., Eddie Albert, George Kennedy, Mercedes McCambridge, Susan Blakely

The Concorde…Airport ’79-1979

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The Concorde…Airport ’79-1979

Director David Lowell Rich

Starring Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, George Kennedy

Scott’s Review #1,078

Reviewed November 7, 2020

Grade: B

The fourth and final installment of the popular Airport film franchise, The Concorde…Airport ’79 (1979) has an appealing and sophisticated international flavor, mainly French culture, that may turn off some viewers seeking a more traditional and domestic offering.

The three previous installments contained a wholesome Americana quality that is lacking in this one. The rich culture is the high point for me in a film that by all accounts is not very good.

By the late 1970s, the disaster genre had all but crashed and burned so the film was commercially unsuccessful, and the franchise thus abandoned.

The plot is utterly ridiculous even by disaster standards and my hunch is that ideas of what could go wrong on an airplane were hard to find. After all, it’s not easy to top an airliner crashing and sinking into the ocean, leaving most passengers unscathed.

This time we experience an airplane flying upside down (more than once!), nose-diving (more than once!), and nearly doing backflips and summersaults (more than once!).

Disappointing is the limited amount of deaths that occur despite these treacheries unless you count a shooting inside an apartment and a suicide that have little to do with the plane ride.

Back to my original point, the cultured and vibrant foreign presence, specifically Paris and its lustrous and historic offerings, is the high point of The Concorde…Airport ’79.

The City of Lights is heavily featured as a team of American Olympic athletes traveling from Washington D.C. to Moscow by way of a layover at Charles De Galle airport. The heavenly site of the Eifel Tower is an immediate identifier as French pilot, Captain Paul Metrand (Alain Delon), flies the state-of-the-art Concorde to the United States to transport its passengers to the games.

There is a strong French flavor to this film. During the Paris layover, George Kennedy’s Joe Patroni, now a pilot, befriends a gorgeous woman named Francine, whom he bonds with over dinner.

They, and others, embark on a fabulous French bistro and have the time of their lives. Who cares that she is later revealed to be a prostitute? The setting oozes with French goodness, food, and sexy accents.

One peculiarity is why the trip goes from Paris to Washington D.C. back to Paris and then on to Moscow. It’s a bit confusing and unnecessary.

Unintentionally funny is how the Concorde is attacked by a drone en route to Paris, and then a bomb is planted on the plane before takeoff to Moscow. Trouble occurs in the same plane with the same passengers.

You would think anyone with half a brain would sit the second leg out, perhaps hopping on the nearest boat or train out of town.

The main story is secondary and quite superfluous. Robert Wagner plays Kevin Harrison, a corrupt arms dealer who plots the destruction of the Concorde because news reporter and girlfriend, Maggie Whelan (Susan Blakely) has evidence of his weapons sales to communists.

He plans to blow up the plane, killing all the passengers, instead of hiring an assassin to kill only Maggie when she lands and before she can tell authorities.

The plot is completely story-driven.

Several celebrity cameos are added mostly for comic relief and largely go nowhere.

Jimmie Walker as the pot-smoking, saxophone-playing Boise, and Martha Raye’s bathroom-crazed Loretta are ridiculous by any standards. Charo’s one scene as Margarita, a woman who sneaks her dog on board and is subsequently kicked off the flight is a time waste.

I would have rather witnessed another scene of Loretta needing to use the restroom or Boise getting high.

And Susan Blakely overacts throughout the film.

Despite all these hard knocks, The Concorde…Airport ’79 (1979) is good entertaining fun, not to be taken seriously, and encouraged for fans of the genre.

There is much fun to be had with the guest stars, once A-list, now B or C-list, and the crash-landing finale over the snowy Alps is pretty cool.

Just know what you are getting yourself into.

1953 Films, Audrey Hepburn, Comedy, Eddie Albert, Gregory Peck, Romantic Comedy, William Wyler

Roman Holiday-1953

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Roman Holiday-1953

Director William Wyler

Starring Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn

Scott’s Review #694

Reviewed October 26, 2017

Grade: B+

Roman Holiday, released in 1953, was a box office hit, pleasing legions of fans at the time, and a critical darling.

The film reaped a series of Academy Award nominations including the coveted Best Actress statuette for a young Audrey Hepburn.

A happy, uplifting story, the film is not diminished by Cinderella in the reverse storyline but rather is a charming, romantic experience immersing itself in pleasing locales of the cultural city of Rome.

Admittedly, Roman Holiday is an example of a film in which I preferred the latter half to the former but set the bar high in the romantic comedy genre.

Our heroine, Princess Ann (Hepburn), has it all glamorous life, gorgeous clothes, and assistants tending to her every need and want. However, she is unhappy and trapped in a rigid life that lacks freedoms or decisions of any kind, to say nothing of the fun she catches glimpses of party-goers reveling in each night from her expansive palace window.

Simply put, she is lonely and unfulfilled.

When she sees an opportunity to escape her life for a night, she snatches it and stumbles upon an American reporter, Joe Bradley (Peck). Despite differing backgrounds, they fall madly in love with one another.

At first, I found something missing in the film and the chemistry between Peck and Hepburn did not immediately embrace me. As the duo meets, Ann, drunk from sleeping pills, and Joe being the ultimate nice guy and allowing her to sleep in his apartment, the story seems somewhat lagging and lacking a good punch.

The pair drive around Rome on a scooter and act childish and silly, Ann acting girlish because fun is an entirely new concept to her. At this point, the film was reasonable but little more than a farce.

As Roman Holiday plugs along, and especially through the final act, the film sheds a bit of its light skin and becomes much more poignant and meaningful.

Ann and Joe, while in love, realize they will not and cannot embark on a fairy tale ending, which truthfully, would have made Roman Holiday little more than a standard romantic comedy we have all seen before- you know the type- boy meets girl, roadblocks persist, boy whisks girl away and rides off into the sunset together.

While not a dark film, it goes deeper than a transparent, predictable ending.

Related to this point is that Roman Holiday contains a realness that sets it apart from many films undoubtedly drawn from it, but unlike this film, leans into contrived or predictable situations.

As Joe and Ann fall in love, the audience falls in love with them. The main plot hurdle- Joe’s temptation to profit off of Ann once he realizes her true identity after a sought-after interview- is earnestly done with a lack of any pretension.

Other similar films ought to take note of this.

Certainly, the historic and culturally relevant locales of Rome are a major sell of the film and, if these scenes were shot on a movie set, a lack of authenticity would surely have emerged.

Instead, we are treated to such fabulous location sequences as the Colosseum, the Tiber River, the Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Venezia. Such a delight is the long sequence of Roman escapades as Joe and Ann traverse the city in giddy bliss.

Enjoyable is how Roman Holiday contains no real villain of any sort.

There are no physical hurdles to the duo’s relationship- no outside forces plotting to keep Joe and Ann apart, other than their lifestyles. Ann is in a world of royalty and pampering, but Joe is an everyman, so the chances of living happily ever after are slim.

Film lovers intent on discovering one of the early romantic comedies- one could argue that It Happened One Night (1934) was the first- ought to watch a feel-good, Hollywood classic from 1953 that is rich in honesty, good humor, and raw emotion without being too much of a heavy melodrama.

After a mediocre start, the film finishes with gusto.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Motion Picture, Best Director-William Wyler, Best Actress-Audrey Hepburn (won), Best Supporting Actor-Eddie Albert, Best Screenplay, Best Story (won), Best Art Direction, Black and White, Best Cinematography, Black and White, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (won), Best Film Editing

1952 Films, Drama, Eddie Albert, Jennifer Jones, Laurence Olivier, Miriam Hopkins, William Wyler

Carrie-1952

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Carrie-1952

Director William Wyler

Starring Jennifer Jones, Laurence Olivier

Scott’s Review #240

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Reviewed May 3, 2015

Grade: B

Carrie, not to be confused with the Brian DePalma horror classic from 1976, is a drama from 1952 starring Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones- two big Hollywood stars of the time.

Shot in black and white, the film tells the story of the self-titled ingénue (Jones) of mid-western upbringing, who travels to Chicago to make her fortune.

Attempting to launch her career, Carrie becomes immersed in a love triangle with Olivier- who is unhappily married and runs a restaurant, and salesman, Charles Drouet, played by Eddie Albert.

Directed by William Wyler, the film has a melancholy tone as one of the characters sinks into a world of despair.

The highlight of this film is the performance of Laurence Olivier. He is excellent, as his character of George Hurstwood goes from a successful restaurant manager with an affluent existence to a poverty-stricken, lonely, broken old man.

Olivier is so effortless and believable in his performance as he always was.

I felt, however, that Jennifer Jones was miscast. Attractive, yes, I did not feel that every man would lust after her on sight alone, as was needed for the character of Carrie. Her acting, while okay, is not on the level of either Albert or especially Olivier, with whom she shares much screen time.

Perhaps Vivian Leigh, Teresa Wright, or Kim Novak might have been wiser choices.

The story itself is compelling and interesting. Here we have a woman- at the turn of the twentieth century- forging ahead to make it on her own- almost unthinkable for a woman, taking menial jobs as a sewing worker in a factory to scrape by.

Carrie resists the urge to become a rich husband-seeking gal and believes in marriage and true love. That is why she is devastated when she learns that George is married.

Will true love win out for them? This seems to be the main aspect of the film.

Behind-the-scenes issues may have contributed to the problems that appear onscreen- Wyler reportedly did not want to cast Jones, Olivier did not like Jones, Olivier was injured during much of the filming, and the ending of the film was changed to provide a “happier” ending.

Originally, George was to commit suicide, which might have successfully made the film more shocking and heartbreaking.

Containing beautiful costumes and interesting cinematography, Carrie has positives but might have been much better than the final product ended up being, but for poor casting and real-life dramas that hurt the film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction, Black-and-White, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White

1955 Films, Eddie Albert, Gloria Grahame, James Mitchell, Musical, Rod Steiger, Shirley Jones

Oklahoma!-1955

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Oklahoma! -1955

Director Fred Zinneman

Starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger

Scott’s Review #51

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Reviewed June 20, 2014

Grade: A-

Oklahoma is one of a slew of memorable Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals to emerge from the 1950s and 1960s Hollywood and to be based on a popular stage version.

The film has an old-west, homespun, comfortable appeal to it. and is best watched during the summer months.

While seeming a bit too hokey and not my favorite musical as compared to other more sophisticated stalwarts such as My Fair Lady, An American in Paris, or The Sound of Music, Oklahoma does emit a flavor and tasteful appeal of the West.

The plot focuses on a love triangle between a good old boy, Curly, a good girl, Laurey Williams, and brooding Jud, though the real rooting couple is Curly and Laurey.

The trio is supported by a large array of townspeople both gossiping about and helping  Curly and Laurey admit their true feelings and come together as a couple. Of course, Jud is the villain and conflicts come into play throughout the production.

There is also a lesser couple, Will Parker and Ado Annie, who find their way into each other’s arms amid the traditional small-town events such as a lively, summer fair.

Stars Gordon MacRae (Curly) and Shirley Jones (Laurey) are both very handsome and likable in the lead roles making for a nice pairing.

Gloria Grahame is very appealing and comical as Ado Annie, especially in her rousing turn bellowing out “I Can’t Say No”, and Charlotte Greenwood is the moral voice of reason as Aunt Eller.

What works best in the film are the settings of Oklahoma, as the viewer experiences such a feel for life in the heartland long ago (though the exteriors were shot in Arizona).

It’s pure fantasy enjoyment and there is a magical Wizard of Oz feel to it- though no cyclone nor munchkins are anywhere in sight. The film version closely follows the original stage version.

The musical numbers are quite catchy (“Oh What a Beautiful Morning”, “I Can’t Say No”, and “Oklahoma” are my favorites). The controversial mid-number “Dream Ballet” is quite provocative artistically enjoyable and jarringly different from the rest of the traditional tale.

This jaw-dropping number most certainly is on par with a similar spectacle in An American in Paris.

Perhaps Oklahoma is not quite on par with other musicals of its day, but pretty close.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (won), Best Sound Recording (won), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Film Editing