Mary Ryan, Detective (1949)

Marsha Hunt is excellent as Mary Ryan,  15 July 2021

The quick pitch: Policewoman Mary Ryan (Marsha Hunt) goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of thieves - first in prison, later as a member of the robbery crew.  

There’s nothing about Mary Ryan, Detective that will change your world.  Instead, it’s a mostly enjoyable little film with the immensely watchable Marsha Hunt as the titular Mary Ryan.  Cute, capable, and engaging are a few of the adjectives I’d use to describe Hunt in this film.  She has an undeniable screen presence (see the fur robbery set-piece for an example) that works for me.  I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the film half as much without Hunt. I’ve read where she ran afoul of the McCarthy-era anti-communist crowd and found her opportunities limited as a result.  How else do you explain the fact that she isn’t better known today?  

Other things I enjoyed about Mary Ryan, Detective include: snappy direction, good pacing, John Litel, and, thankfully, limited comic relief (I admit, however, that I did chuckle at smoked turkey bit).  

Finally, I got a kick out of the whole gang of thieves.  They come across about as cordial and polite as a group of Sunday school teachers.  Not very realistic, but kind of what I’d expect from a film like Mary Ryan, Detective.  

6/10

The Avengers “The Master Minds” #4.6 (1966) (TV)

“He’s just a pawn in the game. The man we’re after is the king.”  14 July 2021

A government minister is shot during a robbery of top secret documents.  However, he has no recollection of committing the crime.  Steed and Mrs Peel become suspicious of a Mensa-like organization called Ransack.  Is someone using the brilliant minds of the Ransack members to commit crimes?  

As I said the last time I wrote about The Avengers, I’m not sure there’s a bad Mrs Peel episode.  It’s just that I don’t find The Master Minds as good as most of others who’ve taken the time to rate it.  My biggest complaint is that it’s all too predictable.  It’s as easy to guess how the crimes are being committed as it is to guess the chief mastermind behind it all (hint: it’s the only person with a significant speaking role that we never see involved in anything nefarious).  More mystery would have gone a long way toward making a good episode a great episode.

Still, this is The Avengers so it’s not all bad.  There are plenty of scenes with Steed being witty - whether it’s with Mrs Peel or the game's mistress - that I particularly enjoyed.  And there’s a longer than usual fight scene near the end that’s a lot of fun.  Finally, the episode opens with a leering look at Mrs Peel from head-to-toe - what’s not to like about that?

6/10

The Golden Eye (1948)

My first Roland Winters’ Chan film, 13 July 2021

Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) agrees to investigate the strange happenings at an Arizona (or is it New Mexico - I really can’t be bothered to check) goldmine.  Along for the ride are son Tommy (Victor Sen Yung) and chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland).

I have seen all of the Sidney Toler and Warner Oland Chan films - most multiple times.  But oddly enough, this is my first experience with Roland Winters.  I’m not impressed.  Maybe it’s my personal bias, but he seems all wrong for the role.  Instead of the measured, deliberate Chan played by both Toler and Oland, Winters is too quick in both speech and action.  And, if it weren’t for the yellow-face, I’d swear Winters was trying to pull off some kind of European, maybe Italian, accent.  It was all so distracting.  

As for the film itself, you know you’re in trouble when the credits begin with the words Monogram Pictures and end with the name William Beaudine.  That pretty much says all you need to know.  Honestly, it’s just a bad movie and not really worth dwelling on.  

On a positive note, The Golden Eye doesn’t feature an overdose of Tommy and Birmingham.  Their comedy bits are limited.  And thank goodness because as much as I like Moreland, his Birmingham Brown schtick gets old pretty quick.

Finally, there were two things that bothered me while watching The Golden Eye and both are related to Victor Sen Yung.  First, why is he named Tommy in this movie?  If you’ve seen any of his previous Chan films, you know he’s Jimmy.  Second, in 1948, he was 33 years old - way too old to be playing the bumbling son.  In fact, he’s way too old to be playing Winters’ son.  Winters would have been 44 when this movie was made - a difference of only 11 years.  

3/10

Dracula (1931)

“This is very old wine.  I hope you like it.”  13 July 2021

Is there any reason to do a plot summary for Dracula?  Any person with even a passing interest in horror or classic films is aware of the basic story.  So instead, I’ll start this by saying I understand and fully appreciate Dracula’s place in film history.  Whether it’s the creepy castle, the sense of dread and death in the film’s atmosphere, or Lugosi’s most iconic role, Dracula is a special film and definitely worth seeing.

Having said all that, Dracula has never been a particular favorite of mine.  I find much of the film terribly stage-bound, complete with an overly exaggerated and dramatic acting style that doesn’t appeal to me.  Director Tod Browning’s “plant and shoot” method of filmmaking doesn’t help matters.  Things are horribly stagnant.  And much of the film moves at a snail’s pace.  Please note - I realize that most of my complaints are based on the film’s age and the technology and filming techniques used at the time.  Still, I can’t help it if I don’t find it as entertaining as other movies from the period (see Frankenstein, M, or even the Spanish language Dracula for examples of films from 1931 that I enjoy).  It may be blasphemous to some, but to me, Dracula is one of the best (or worst) examples of a dated film I can think of.  As for the Dracula character, I much prefer the noirish sequel Son of Dracula (1943) or Hammer’s Horror of Dracula (1958) with the decidedly more animated Christopher Lee in the title role.  

As I’ve said a number of times, entertainment is the primary driver behind my ratings.  Based on all of the issues I have with Dracula, I can’t in all honesty rate it higher than a very average 5/10.   

5/10

Point of No Return (1993)

“Why do you talk so dirty, Maggie?” 12 July 2021

Bridget Fonda is Maggie, a drug addict caught up in a pharmacy robbery.  She’s arrested, but gets something of a reprieve when a covert government agency takes notice and decides to train her for a life of secret, deadly missions.  Eventually, however, Maggie’s desire for a “normal” life complicates things and puts her in danger.

Even though I generally enjoy Point of No Return, much of what I’m about to write will sound just the opposite.  I find it much easier to discuss my issues with the film.  First, even though I always found Bridget Fonda an enjoyable, talented actress, I’m not sure she’s physically imposing enough to realistically pull off some of the stunts she’s asked to do in this movie.  Scenes of her taking down trained bodyguards or assassins twice her size don’t really ring true.  Second, the training sequences where Maggie goes from drug-addled to world-class super-spy aren’t nearly enough to explain the transformation.  Other than a lesson in table manners from Anne Bancroft, we don’t get much detail on Maggie’s conversion.  And third, the bits with Dermot Mulroney - ugh.  The “proposal” scene is the worst.  Mulroney’s character is so annoyingly written, it’s a real distraction to the rest of the film.  

Having said all that, Point of No Return isn’t without some nice moments.  The hotel fight sequence (as is the case with most of the movie) is beautifully filmed, ending with a nice jump to safety.  Fonda’s acting ability is another highlight.  There’s a small bit where she sheds a tear because of the predicament she’s in that’s a top-notch piece of acting.  Next, I’ve got to agree with most everyone else who has written about Point of No Return - Harvey Keitel is awesome.  It’s a small role, but few actors could make so much out of it.  Really good stuff.  

In the end, it’s not great, but Point of No Return features enough fun set-pieces, Keitel’s memorable character, and Fonda’s solid performance to make it better than average.  It’s no Nikita, but it’s a decent enough time-waster.  

6/10

The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)

Reasonably entertaining, but too much comedy, 30 June 2021

The Lone Wolf, Michael Lanyard (Warren William), realizes he’s being set-up to take the fall for a series of thefts involving government secrets.  With the police eager to nab him for the crime, Lanyard’s out to clear his name.

Until I watched The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt, I’d never seen a Lone Wolf film.  I’ve always been a fan of the 30s / 40s mystery / comedy series like The Thin Man, The Falcon, and The Saint, so I figured The Lone Wolf would be comparable.  While I was reasonably entertained and will most likely seek out other Lone Wolf movies, I had some issues with the movie that keep me from endorsing it whole-heartedly.  My chief gripe is that the movie never strikes the right balance between the comedy and the mystery elements..  There’s just too much funny business.  Between the girlfriend Val, butler Jameson, daughter Patricia, and cop Sgt Devan, there are enough comedic shenanigans for three movies.  As for the mystery elements, they’re about what you expect from this kind of film and not dissimilar from what you find in one of the other series I mentioned.  One plot point  I really did enjoy was the envelope of secret plans passing back and forth, over and over. 

Even if you aren’t into this kind of movie, there are other things that make The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt worth checking out - Ida Lupino and Rita Hayworth.  Both were 20 years old and still looking for their big breaks.  Really neat they’re both in a movie like this.

5/10

Breathless (2012)

Not as clever as it wants to be, 29 June 2021

Lorna (Gina Gershon) is convinced that her no-good husband is responsible for a recent bank robbery.  She enlists the help of long-time friend, Tiny (Kelli Giddish), to help find the money.  In short order, Lorna has her husband tied to a chair and shoots him in the head.  Now, in addition to finding the money, Lorna and Tiny have a body to dispose of.

I had never heard of Breathless until it was recommended to me by a streaming platform.  The plot summary sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a whirl.  Overall, I wasn’t very impressed.  The main problem I had is that the film is never quite as smart and funny as it wants to be.  I felt like Lorna’s ramblings were meant to evoke a Tarantino-like feeling, but the writing’s just not clever enough.  In fact, I found much of the dialogue-heavy first half of the film a bit boring.  It wasn’t until the scene-stealing PI (played spectacularly by Wayne Duvall) showed up that things got interesting.  So, even though I liked much of the second half of Breathless, my overall enjoyment had already suffered as I was ready to throw in the towel at about the 45 minute mark.  

Finally, I generally like Gina Gershon, but I didn’t care for her as Lorna.  She gives her all to the role, but for me, she seems miscast.  I don’t see her as a housewife living in a single-wide in the middle of nowhere Texas.  

4/10