Kick-Back Friday: December 2009 Archives

Cromwell (1970): Richard Harris and Alec Guinness carry a very favorable biopic of the first Lord Protectorate of England, Oliver Cromwell (Harris), who personifies Parliament's power struggle with the presiding royalty—in this case, King Charles I (Guinness). Guinness is particularly good at displaying the complex character of a, by nature, very diffident and insecure king. To wit (and Derek Jacobi should have taken note): Guinness ever so subtly and effectively depicts Charles's supposed stutter.

The Racket

(1951): Howard Hughes remakes his 1928 film of the same name, which was based on Capone-inspired play. (Unfortunately the earlier film, which is reportedly better, is not on DVD.) Certain aspects of the reworked plot don't make much sense, as commentator Eddie Muller (whose encyclopedic knowledge of film noir is just scary) admits; and Robert Mitchum pretty much phones it in as an incorruptible police captain. But Robert Ryan, as a snarly thug and the captain's longtime nemesis, is in usual top form. With an extremely laconic William Conrad as a corrupt cop and the husky-voiced Lizabeth Scott as a "tommy" "canary." Directed by, well, a number of people.

P.S. All physicians will have fun randomly quoting this line from Ryan's bully of a character: "Blow, shyster!"

The Asphalt Jungle (1950): Longing to buy back his family's Kentucky horse farm, a "hooligan" (Sterling Hayden) joins a team-driven jewel heist in San Francisco. What could possibly go wrong?

With James Whitmore, a vulnerable Jean Hagen (Singin' in the Rain), and a young Marilyn Monroe. Directed by John Huston.

Perennial HT: KTG

Addendum: Well I thought it was San Francisco (maybe I recognized some exterior shots). But the movie apparently takes place in some nameless Midwestern city.