Mike Kovac (Charles Bronson) is taking pictures at a tenement fire in New York City. After getting his pictures of the fire, he gets a few shots of some of the people hanging around, including Norma Delgado (Angie Dickinson). A group of young men see him taking the pictures, so they take the camera away from him. It seems Norma is the daughter of Marty Delgado (Robert Armstrong), a mobster who’s just finished off a six year stretch in prison. Prior to going to prison, Marty stashed a lot of cash away and the boys are planning on taking it away from him. They’re afraid if anyone knows his daughter is around, they’ll be on their way to take the money for themselves. When the boys show back up at Kovac’s house, take his pictures and smash him on the head, he’s determined to figure out what the hell is going on. The first step is finding Norma. Once he finds her, everything else should become clear.
Aside from Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac, the most interesting thing about this episode is the presence of the lovely Angie Dickinson. At this point in her career she was mostly guesting on TV shows or doing smaller parts in movies. She’s so beautiful, but she really doesn’t have a lot to do here. The next year she would play John Wayne’s love interest in RIO BRAVO (1959) and she’d be on her way to stardom. It’s a treat seeing her and Bronson on screen together.
Bronson does have one decent tough guy exchange with the young thugs:
Kovac – “…a real tough bunch. You’re tough like a coat of cheap paint. First stretch of bad weather comes along and it peels right off!”
Thug – “Maybe you’re the paint remover?!”
Kovac – “You don’t get that boy out the darkroom, we’ll soon find out!”
As soon as Kovac says this he gets knocked out cold, so Bronson’s not always as tough as he seems at this point in his career.
One other thing, I am finding that I like the episodes where Kovac’s “Pop” Anton (Ludwig Stossel) shows up. Pop is also a photographer, and he’s so proud of his son and the way his pictures are always in magazines and in the papers. During the middle part of this episode he just has one slight criticism of his son’s work, “you need more lighting.” When Kovac gets the money shot at the end and Pop sees it in a magazine, he’s so proud… he just thinks there needed to be more lighting! It’s a lighthearted and fun way for the episode to end.
Immediately following the Civil War, a group of U.S. soldiers and a group of former Confederates have to work together to survive an Apache ambush. The leader of the soldiers is Sgt. Matt Blake (Scott Brady) and he’s escorting a gunrunner (Baynes Barron) to a nearby fort. Leading the former Confederates is Sam Prescott (Frank Gerstle). The two groups are, at first, suspicious of each other. Confederate Judge Stanfield (Irving Bacon) thinks that Blake should just give the gunrunner and his guns to the Apaches, since that’s what they want. When Blake disagrees, Prescott tries to encourage a young and angry former Confederate named Keith (Clint Eastwood) to challenge Blake’s command. In the end, the former enemies have to learn how to set aside their differences to survive and to make it to the fort.
This was one of Eastwood’s earliest performances and only the fourth time that his name actually appeared in the opening credits. (Eastwood had appeared, uncredited, in several films before this one.) Eastwood later called Ambush at Cimarron Pass “the lousiest western ever made” and claimed that he hated the film so much that he almost gave up on acting after seeing it. I think he’s being too hard on the movie. It’s a low-budget B-movie that pretty much takes place in one location and it has an tending that feels tacked-on but, when it concentrates on the action and the hostility between the two groups, it’s not that bad. It feels more like an episode of Death Valley Days than an actual movie but Scott Brady is a convincing hero and his brawl with Eastwood is one of the movie’s highlights. As for Eastwood’s performance, he’s stiff but convincing when he’s angry. It’s obvious that, in 1958, Clint Eastwood still had a long way to go an actor but his physical presence makes him stand out whenever he’s in a scene. Ambush at Cimarron Pass is nothing special but it’s good enough to work for fans of the genre who might be looking for a brief diversion that features a handful of familiar faces.
After appearing in this film, Eastwood would land the role of Rowdy Yates on Rawhide and spend the next six years on television. His next film would be A Fistful of Dollars, a western that made a much deeper impression on audiences than Ambush At Cimarron Pass.
Here at The Shattered Lens, we’re celebrating Clint Eastwood’s birthday on May 31st. I decided to revisit his 1999 film, TRUE CRIME.
Clint Eastwood directs and stars as ace journalist, Steve Everett, who also happens to be a bad friend, a terrible dad, and an even worse husband. Literally the only thing that he’s got going for him is his “nose,” his ability to sniff out a story where no one else can. Even that has begun to fail him, mostly due to his recents bouts with alcoholism, which he seems to somewhat have a handle on at the time of this story. When a young, beautiful colleague tragically passes away in an auto accident, Steve is given her previous assignment to cover the execution of convicted murderer Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington). Not the kind to write a human interest “puff piece” like the Oakland Tribune is wanting, Everett begins digging into the past and pretty soon that nose of his starts telling him that Beechum is a victim of circumstantial evidence. Despite his editor Bob Findley’s (Denis Leary) objections, he’s able to convince his newspaper boss Alan Mann (James Woods) to let him dig deeper into the story. As he tries to juggle his myriad personal problems with his growing belief in Beechum’s innocence, Everett is also facing a clock that is ticking down to the midnight execution. Will he be able to find the crucial piece of evidence that will set Beechum free?
TRUE CRIME appears to be somewhat of a forgotten Clint Eastwood film. I saw it at the theater when it came out in 1999, but it was not financially successful, only bringing in $16 Million at the box office. Regardless of that, I still love the film. It’s certainly not perfect. It’s probably too long, Beechum is probably too angelic after being “born again,” and the resolution may be a little unrealistic, but I still enjoyed every second of it. One of the coolest things about Clint Eastwood is his willingness to play such flawed men on screen, yet we still love him. He’s great in this film! Anyone who’s read much of my work knows that my love of actor James Woods goes back to being in junior high and renting his movies BEST SELLER and COP. It’s such a treat seeing the legendary pair on screen together even if Woods’ role is sort of a glorified cameo. Woods is hilarious in his limited screen time. My last shout out is to Isaiah Washington as the innocent man who’s about to be put to death. After all these years and appeals, he’s accepted his fate, but the scene where he tells Everett his story and Everett tells him that he believes he’s innocent is so powerful. Add to that Washington’s scenes with his wife and daughter, and I was very much emotionally invested in this film. Washington’s performance was key to the film working, and he’s great!
Overall, TRUE CRIME is a film that takes its sweet time, but it ultimately tells a tense, engrossing story that ratchets up the tension to 10 prior to its last second resolution. I consider it very underrated and highly recommend it. I’ve included the trailer below:
The best way to sum up the Live Action version of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is with a line used in both films – “It’s little, and it’s broken, but good. Yeah. Still good.” I didn’t care for it as much as I thought I would (due to some changes in the story), but didn’t despise it enough to fully warrant a full thumbs down.
The Memorial Day Weekend battle basically comes down between Angela Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, who both have movies coming out. Vance can see seen in Lilo & Stitch as Agent Cobra Bubbles (previously played by Ving Rhames in the original, who is in Bassett’s film this weekend, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning).Remakes are shaky things, even if you stay close to the source material. The Live Action version of Lilo & Stitch feels abbreviated, for want of a better word. I enjoyed what was presented, and so did the early evening audience that consisted of families and yet, it didn’t hit every note for me. I won’t say it’s horrible, but it felt rushed for a film that has about 25 more minutes than the original.
The story is mostly the same. Dr. Joomba Jookiba (Zach Galifinakis, The Hangover) has unleashed an abomination in Experiment 626, a.k.a. Stitch (voiced once again by Chris Sanders). Stitch is nearly indestructible, highly intelligent and extremely dangerous. Already captured and forced to stand trial, Stitch escapes, steals a spaceship and ends up in Hawaii. The water is dangerous for Stitch, as he’s too dense to really float.
Lilo (Newcomer Maia Kealoha) is girl that’s considered different by most. She loves her self made dolls, saving chickens that shouldn’t be caged and doesn’t have much in the way of friends. She often gets in trouble, and this is putting a strain on her relationship with her sister, Nani (Sydney Agudong, Infamously in Love). Nani is trying to hold a job and keep the local Social Worker (Tia Carrere, True Lies and the voice of Nani in the original Lilo and Stitch) at bay.
When the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning) sends Dr. Joomba and Pleakley (Billy Magnussen, No Time To Die) to Earth on a retrieval mission, Stitch hides himself with Lilo and Nani, posing as a dog. Both The CIA’s lead agent, Cobra Bubbles, is also closing in on Stitch after his crash landing. Can Stitch find a way to escape capture and learn the magic of Ohana? Will Lilo find the friendship she’s longing for?
Lilo & Stitch keeps most of best scenes from the original – Stitch’s opening lines are there, of course, and so is his speech about his family. The theme of Ohana is still there. It still means Family, and means no one is left behind or forgotten. However, we’re taught a new word, “Kuleana” – which means “responsiblity” or “accountability”. The live action version changes the script by escalating the broken home situation between Nani and Lilo. Nani has a life she wants to live, too, but the loss of their parents and taking care of Lilo have put her dreams on hold. In a cartoon, an alien can show up and make everything right. In reality, things are a bit more complicated. It kind of pulls the fun out of things, but grounds the film in some real world consequences.
The entire story is carried on the tiniest of shoulders, and Maia Kealoha makes for a near perfect Lilo. Every scene with just Lilo and Stitch alone are great, and they end up in quite a few adventures. The CGI for Stitch and the other aliens are also very good. Disney’s obviously learned something from Paramount and their “Ugly Sonic” scandal. The same can be said for Agudong’s Nani. There really isn’t a bad acting choice in the entire lot, but the film pulls a piece off the chessboard. The Grand Counselwoman’s chief enforcer, a large sharklike alien named Captain Gantuu, is not in the film. Instead, the story removes his storyline and focus on making Joomba more the villain and Stitch the hero. Joomba and Pleakley spend most of their time bumbling through Earth’s customs, but keep most of the humor throughout. I get why the directors chose to go this way, since the sequences give Lilo more to do in them. It’s not a perfect change, but it all evens out, and the kids in the audience at my showing ate it all up (as did some of the grown ups).
Lilo and Stitch is a good watch if you’ve never heard of the story before. For kids that are new to it, it’s a treat, but it may be better to wait for the Disney Plus edition.
On a side note, I also picked up a Collector’s Edition Lilo & Stitch popcorn bucket, which contains a opening in the back to hold popcorn or other items. Stitch’s skin feels like velvet (or something fuzzy, really).
Today’s song of the day comes to us from the soundtrack of the 1983 film, Revenge of the Ninja. Composed by Robert J. Walsh, this soundtrack will definitely leave you prepared to defeat all of your enemies, ninja-style!
(Actually, don’t try to do that without getting some training once. I speak with the experience who sprained her ankle multiple times as a result of trying to duplicated Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld moves.)
Today, we wish a happy birthday to Cillian Murphy!
A year ago, Murphy won the Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. However, before playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s epic, Cillian Murphy been an intriguing cinematic presence for over two decades. I first became aware of him after watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 classic, 28DaysLater. Here he is, showing what he can do without even uttering a word of dialogue, in a haunting scene from that film.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to screenwriter Bob Gale! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Films Written By Bob Gale
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Donald M. Morgan)
1941 (directed by Steven Spielberg, DP: William A. Fraker)
Used Cars (1980, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Donald M. Morgan)
Back to the Future (1986, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Dean Cundey)
Dragonfly is from the early days of Fleetwood Mac, before the arrival of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and the resulting soap opera that made the band a boomer favorite. Instead, Dragonfly is a far more psychedelic song that Fleetwood Mac’s later work and the music video reflects that psychedelic feel.
Written by the band’s then-guitarist Danny Kirwan, Dragonfly features lyrics adapted from W.H. Davies’s 1927 poem, TheDragonfly, and it was the first single that the band recorded after the band’s original frontman, Peter Green, had let the group. By the time the single was released, guitarist Jeremy Spencer had also left the group. Even before the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks, Fleetwood Mac was a band known for its backstage drama.
This single failed to chart when it was originally released in the UK, though the members of the band felt it was one of their best songs. The psychedelic video, which was obviously made in the days before MTV caused bands to consider that people should be able to watch a music video without burning out their retinas, probably didn’t help. The song is better than the video. It was finally given a belated U.S. release in 2014 and managed to make it to 9th place on the Hot Singles Sales Chart.
Through the Shattered Lens 