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The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast – 1×28 – The Fly 1 + 2

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Posted on 21 June 201620 January 2022 by An Alan Smithee PodcastPosted in Podcasts

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The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast – 1×28 – The Fly 1 + 2

WHERE TO LISTEN

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Spotify
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Posted on 21 June 201610 July 2024 by An Alan Smithee PodcastPosted in Podcasts, The Fly, The Fly II

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Previous Previous post: The Best of An Alan Smithee Podcast – 1×28 – The Fly 1 + 2
Next Next post: Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)

The Stop Button

blogging by Andrew Wickliffe

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  • Briefly (2 May 2026)

    Movies

    36 Hours to Kill (1936) D: Eugene Forde. S: Brian Donlevy, Gloria Stuart, Douglas Fowley, Paul Fix, Jonathan Hale. Relaxed cheapie thriller about gangster Fowley taking a cross-country train to escape a dragnet, only to run into somewhat nosy reporter Donlevy. They then get into a love triangle with mystery woman Stuart. It'd be a lot better if at least ten minutes (of a sixty-five-minute runtime) weren't dedicated to crappy racist jokes at Fetchit's expense.

    A Blueprint for Murder (1953) D: Andrew L. Stone. S: Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Gary Merrill, Jack Kruschen, Barney Phillips. Visiting brother-in-law Cotten begins to suspect Peters, step-mom to his niece and nephew, has malicious intent. Half the movie is Cotten and the supporting cast trying to catch her, half is the aftermath. The procedural stuff's a drag. Cotten's okay, but Peters only gets to show personality in the finale. Too low budget, too thin script.

    Crime Doctor (1943) D: Michael Gordon. S: Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Bess Flowers, Ray Collins. Densely plotted origin story has amnesiac Baxter becoming a renowned psychiatrist who used to be some kind of crook, but he avoids finding out until the last twenty minutes (of sixty-six). Occasionally inventive, usually competent, always efficient. Baxter and love interest Lindsay lack chemistry. Collins's the mentor, Litel's the villain. Also fun is spotting the THIN MAN alums. Adapted from the Philip Morris-sponsored radio show created by Max Marcin; first of ten CRIME DOCTOR films starring Baxter. Followed by THE CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE.

    The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945) D: George Sherman. S: Warner Baxter, Hillary Brooke, Jerome Cowan, Emory Parnell, Anthony Caruso. Baxter's on vacation in sunny Los Angeles and quickly gets involved with a case of newlywed Brooke discovering husband Crane was cleared of his first two wives' suspicious deaths (days after marrying them). There's not much mystery to this one, just red herrings and a bunch of supernatural intimations to pack the runtime. Baxter's game enough, but COURAGE's thin. Followed by CRIME DOCTOR'S WARNING.

    The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945) D: William Castle. S: Warner Baxter, John Litel, Dusty Anderson, John Abbott, Miles Mander. Overlong installment has Baxter trying to clear rich kid turned wannabe artist Irwin, who may be murdering his models. There are plenty of faces to spot in the supporting cast--Mander's the most fun of the credited, J.M. Kerrigan of the uncredited--but their scenes are always short. It's mostly Baxter investigating alone in dark sets. Definitionally middling. Followed by JUST BEFORE DAWN.

    The Crime Doctor’s Strangest Case (1943) D: Eugene Forde. S: Warner Baxter, Lynn Merrick, Gloria Dickson, Lloyd Bridges, Sam Flint. Very efficient programmer has Baxter investigating a rich guy's murder by poison. Bridges is the prime suspect, and a fellow Baxter saved from a previous charge involving a poisoned rich guy. The mystery itself's solid, and director Forde does well with suspense. The actors not as much. The finish needs to be better, but it nearly works out. Followed by SHADOWS IN THE NIGHT.

    Seconds (1966) D: John Frankenheimer. S: Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton. Incredibly intense, meticulously photographed (gorgeous James Wong Howe black and white) and edited (Ferris Webster and David Newhouse) sci-fi thriller about two painters, lapsed amateur Randolph and successful but lost Hudson, and their dealings with a peculiar services company. Great performances from Randolph and Hudson. Excellent Frankenheimer direction. The third act whiffs a bit, but not too much.

    Shadows in the Night (1944) D: Eugene Forde. S: Warner Baxter, Nina Foch, George Zucco, Lester Matthews, Ben Welden. Baxter's out of his element at a seaside estate trying to figure out patient Foch's nightmares, except he's having them, too. The first half drags but once the reveals get started, it's a fine enough mystery. Foch's wanting. Welden's very nearly Baxter's sidekick, providing sorely needed rapport. The series's brutal efficiency rarely allows time for the numerous red herrings. Followed by CRIME DOCTOR'S WARNING.

    Shoeshine (1946) D: Vittorio De Sica. S: Franco Interlenghi, Rinaldo Smordoni, Annielo Mele, Emilio Cigoli, Bruno Ortenzi. Stark, compassionate rendering of postwar Roman boyhood. Best friends Interlenghi and Smordoni luck into a financial windfall only it comes with devastating consequences. Fantastic performances, particularly from the mostly young cast. De Sica's direction is superb. Sublime pacing and plotting, the editing is outstanding. Relentlessly depressing, but never quite despondent. The film finds the humanity everywhere it looks.

    Sweet Smell of Success (1957) D: Alexander Mackendrick. S: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner, Sam Levene. Amoral New York press agent Curtis will do anything to stay in also amoral gossip columnist Lancaster's good graces. Determining who's more amoral and how many lives can be ruined in the continuous thirty-six hour present action is the relentless, often mortifying character study. Fantastic performances, photography, and direction. Great location shooting. Spectacular, rapid fire dialogue and pace.

    Comics

    Masters of the Universe The Motion Picture (1987) #1 W: Ralph Macchio. A: Art Nichols, Dennis Janke, George Tuska, Mike Zeck. Rote movie adaptation is only of note--barely--for the use of the HE-MAN toy designs instead of the movie costumes (except for the cheap-o new movie creatures). George Tuska's pencils are hurried, but he gives the book more than it deserves. Not enough to make it worth a look, but at least there's some bare competence.

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