88% (2) Wild River 110 min, Not Rated, [Drama, History, Romance] [Elia Kazan] [01 May 1960]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 77%, Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, External Reviews
Awards: 2 wins & 1 nomination.
Actors: Albert Salmi, Jo Van Fleet, Lee Remick, Montgomery Clift
Writer: Paul Osborn (screenplay), William Bradford Huie (based on novels by), Borden Deal (based on novels by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: A young field administrator for the TVA comes to rural Tennessee to oversee the building of a dam on the Tennessee River. He encounters opposition from the local people, in particular a farmer who objects to his employment (with pay) of local black laborers. Much of the plot revolves around the eviction of an elderly woman from her home on an island in the River, and the young man's love affair with that woman's widowed granddaughter.
Rotten Tomatoes: Filmed on location in the Tennessee Valley, Wild River is set in the early 1930s. Montgomery Clift plays an idealistic TVA agent, assigned to convince the locals to move from their property so that a beneficial dam can be built. The principal holdout is feisty octogenarian Jo Van Fleet, who refuses to budge from her land, convinced that she will die if she ever gives an inch. Her prophecy turns out to be true, as Van Fleet becomes yet another sacrifice to progress. Clift also runs into opposition because of his fair treatment of the local black population. Lee Remick costars as Van Fleet's granddaughter, who comes to love and understand the sensitive Clift. Some dated fuzzy-headed liberalism aside, Wild River is a masterful recreation of a difficult, complex period in American history. Watch for an uncredited Bruce Dern in his film debut. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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83% (2) The Tenant 126 min, R, [Drama, Thriller] [Roman Polanski] [26 May 1976]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 77%, Rotten Tomatoes: 90%, External Reviews
Awards: 2 nominations.
Actors: Isabelle Adjani, Jo Van Fleet, Melvyn Douglas, Roman Polanski
Writer: Roland Topor (novel), Gérard Brach (screenplay), Roman Polanski (screenplay)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: French, English Country: France
Plot: In Paris, the shy bureaucrat Trelkovsky rents an old apartment without bathroom where the previous tenant, the Egyptologist Simone Choule, committed suicide. The unfriendly concierge (Shelley Winters) and the tough landlord Mr. Zy establish stringent rules of behavior and Trelkovsky feels ridden by his neighbors. Meanwhile he visits Simone in the hospital and befriends her girlfriend Stella. After the death of Simone, Trelkovsky feels obsessed for her and believes his landlord and neighbors are plotting a scheme to force him to also commit suicide.
Rotten Tomatoes: Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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77% (2) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 122 min, Passed, [Biography, Drama, Western] [John Sturges] [30 May 1957]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 82%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors: Burt Lancaster, Jo Van Fleet, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming
Writer: Leon Uris (screenplay), George Scullin (suggested by an article by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: After a long career as a lawman that made him a legend, Wyatt Earp decides to quit and join his brothers in Tombstone, Arizona. There he would see them in a feud with the Clantons, a local clan of thugs and cattle thieves. When the showdown becomes inevitable, the help will come from Doc Holliday, a terminally-ill gambler who happens to be another Wild West legend.
Rotten Tomatoes: Of the many filmed versions of the October 26, 1881, O.K. Corral shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was one of the most elaborate and star-studded. Burt Lancaster plays Wyatt Earp, the renowned lawman, while Kirk Douglas is consumptive gambler (and gunfighter) Doc Holliday -- the two meet in difficult circumstances, as Earp discovers that Holiday, for whom he initially feels little but loathing, is being held on a trumped up murder charge and being set up for a lynching, and intercedes on his behalf. The action shifts to Dodge City, Kansas, where Earp is marshal and Holiday, hardly grateful for the good turn, shows up right in the middle of all kinds of trouble, this time mostly on Earp's side of the ledger. And, finally, the two turn up in Tombstone, Arizona, where Wyatt's brother Virgil is city marshal, and where Wyatt finally gets to confront the Clanton/McLowery outlaw gang (led by Lyle Bettger as Ike Clanton). Since the time-span of the actual gunfight was at most 90 seconds, the bulk of the film concerns the tensions across many months leading up to the famous battle. As scripted by Leon Uris (from a magazine story by George Scullin), the story involves two unrelated but parallel plot-lines -- a long-standing vendetta against Holliday and the efforts of Earp to bring the Clanton/McLowery gang to justice -- that are eventually drawn together on the streets of Tombstone. Woven into these proceedings are Earp's and Holliday's romantic dalliances with lady gambler Laura Denbow (Rhonda Fleming) and Kate Fisher (Jo Van Fleet), whose switch in affections from Holiday to outlaw fast-gun Johnny Ringo (John Ireland) only rachets up gambler's rage and the reasons behind the bloody climax. There are plenty of bribery attempts, terse dialogue exchanges and "Mexican standoffs" before the inevitable gunfight takes place. Director John Sturges takes some dramatic license with this confrontation, as well, stretching things out to nearly six minutes, but this is after all an "A" production, and a minute-and-a-half of gunfire just wouldn't cut it. The huge cast of western veterans includes Earl Holliman as Charles Bassett, Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton, Kenneth Tobey as Bat Masterson, Lee Van Cleef as Ed Bailey, Jack Elam as Tom McLowery, and John Hudson, DeForest Kelley and Martin Milner as Virgil, Morgan, and James Earp, respectively. And there's that Dimitri Tiomkin score, pushing the movie's momentum as relentlessly as the two driven heroes, complete with a song (sung by Frankie Laine) underscoring the major transitions of scenes that's impossible to forget, once heard. Sturges himself would produce and direct a more fact-based and realistic version of the story -- focusing mostly on its aftermath -- a decade later, entitled Hour of the Gun, starring James Garner, Jason Robards, Jr., and Robert Ryan, which wasn't nearly as attractive or successful. But after Gunfight At The OK Corral, there would not be so impressive a lineup of talent at the OK Corral again until the twin Earp biopics of 1994, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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38% (2) I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! 92 min, Approved, [Comedy, Romance] [Hy Averback] [18 Oct 1968]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 63%, Rotten Tomatoes: 14%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.
Actors: Jo Van Fleet, Joyce Van Patten, Leigh Taylor-Young, Peter Sellers
Writer: Paul Mazursky, Larry Tucker
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Spanish Country: USA
Plot: Peter Sellers stars as Harold Fine, a self-described square--a 35-year-old Los Angeles Lawyer who is not looking forward to middle age and his upcoming wedding. His life changes, however, when he falls in love with Nancy, a free-spirited, innocent, and beautiful young hippie. After Harold and his family enjoy some of her "groovy" brownies, he decides to "drop out" with her and become a hippie too. But can he return to his old life when he discovers that the hippie lifestyle is just a little too independent and irresponsible for his tastes?
Rotten Tomatoes: In this comedy, harried Los Angeles attorney Harold Fine wishes to leave behind the hypocritical establishment life. He is being driven crazy by his overbearing parents and henpecked by his demanding fiancee. He quits his job and runs off to join the counter culture as a hippie.
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25% (2) The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight 96 min, PG-13, [Comedy, Crime] [James Goldstone] [21 Jul 1972]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 50%, Rotten Tomatoes: 0%, External Reviews
Actors: Jerry Orbach, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young, Lionel Stander
Writer: Jimmy Breslin (novel), Waldo Salt
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: This is the funny story about two warring Mafia gangs in New York. The weaker gang use incredibly a lion to blackmail the opposite gang's "clients". The police succeeds to stop one of the gang, while the other remain without the Boss.
Rotten Tomatoes: In this comedy, based on Jimmy Breslin's novel, a bungling gang of hoods make increasingly ludicrous attempts on the life of a Mafia boss. Each attempt ends in failure.
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78% (1) Cinderella 84 min, G, [Musical, Fantasy, Romance, Family] [Charles S. Dubin] [22 Feb 1965]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, External Reviews
Actors: Celeste Holm, Ginger Rogers, Jo Van Fleet, Walter Pidgeon
Writer: Joseph Schrank (teleplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical retelling of the classic fairy tale. Cinderella is a teenage girl forced to do all of the menial tasks in the home she shares with her coldhearted stepmother and homely stepsisters. One day when home alone, Cinderella shares a cup of water with a thirsty and handsome traveler, not realizing until he continues on his journey that he is the crown prince of the kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the king and queen invite every young maiden in the kingdom to a royal ball so that the crown prince can find a girl to marry. Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters go to the ball, leaving Cinderella behind to wish about how her life could be. While she is daydreaming, she is visited by her fairy godmother, who makes it possible for her wishes to come true.
Rotten Tomatoes: Lesley Ann Warren plays the title role in this television production of the classic Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III musical. Cinderella (Warren) is a sweet and pretty young woman who has been given a poor hand by fate; her stepmother (Jo Van Fleet) treats her cruelly, and while her graceless sisters are invited to a royal ball, Cinderella is not allowed to attend. But her Fairy Godmother (Celeste Holm) has other plans, and Cinderella attends the ball, where she makes a tremendous impression upon the Prince (Stuart Damon). But her Godmother's magic only works until midnight, and Cinderella is forced to leave the festivities at their height; will she ever see the Prince again? And how will he ever find her? This was the second television production of this musical version of the classic fairy tale; the original 1957 version featured a young Julie Andrews in the lead.
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74% (1) I'll Cry Tomorrow 117 min, PASSED, [Biography, Drama, Music] [Daniel Mann] [25 Dec 1955]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.
Actors: Eddie Albert, Jo Van Fleet, Richard Conte, Susan Hayward
Writer: Helen Deutsch (screenplay), Jay Richard Kennedy (screenplay), Lillian Roth (book), Mike Connolly (book), Gerold Frank (book)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Deprived of a normal childhood by her ambitious mother, Katie, Lillian Roth becomes a star of Broadway and Hollywood before she is twenty. Shortly before her marriage to her childhood sweetheart, David Tredman, he dies and Lillian takes her first drink of many down the road of becoming an alcoholic. She enters into a short-lived marriage to an immature aviation cadet, Wallie, followed by a divorce and then marriage to a sadistic brute and abuser Tony Bardeman. After a failed suicide attempt, Burt McGuire comes to her aid and helps her find the road back to happiness after sixteen years in a nightmare world, not counting the first twenty with her mother.
Rotten Tomatoes: Susan Hayward stars as actress Lillian Roth in this biography based on Roth's own memoirs. The daughter of a stage mother who relentlessly pushes her child into show business, Roth finds success at a young age but as an adult suffers through several tragic relationships and succumbs to alcoholism.
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