Last Year at Marienbad/L'Année Dernière à Marienbad/Last Year in Marienbad (1961) - Resnais' iconic castle-set love mystery

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An avant-garde/artistic poster for Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad

A man in a castle named Marienbad Hotel attempts to recall what happened between him and a beautiful woman there one year ago. - She remembers nothing.

 

Last Year at Marienbad is written by Alain Robbe-Grillet (La Jalousie (1972, TV movie)) and directed by Alain Resnais (Ouvert pour Cause d'Inventaire (1946)). The title is a literal translation of the original French title.

It is one of the foremost films ever to have given French cinema a reputation for being elitist, incomprehensible and dull, - and not without reason in this case. Last Year at Marienbad is funny in an absurd way.

The widescreen images of the castle (cinematography by Sascha Vierny (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989))) are masterly, and the film works best as a visual and technical exercise of a rare breed.

Francis Seyrig's (Marie Soleil (1964)) organ music score is fatiguing, and the entire narrative side of the 'drama' is, of course, pretentious and deeply, deeply mystical. 

 

Related post:

 

Alain Resnais: Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) - Beauty and passion in the midst of devastation in Resnais' striking images

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[Last Year at Marienbad premiered in July (Franse Film Week, Utrecht, Netherlands) and runs 94 minutes. 10 companies cooperated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from September - November 1960 in France and Germany. Details concerning the film's budget and original release box office performances are regrettably not made public online. The film was chosen as France's nomination for the Oscars Best Foreign Film category but went without a nomination. It was instead nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category, lost to Ennio de Concini, Alfredi Giannetti and Pietro Germi for Divorce Italian Style. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. Resnais returned with Muriel (1963). Delphine Seyrig (Freak Orlando (1981)) returned in Muriel; Giorgio Albertazzi (La Rivale (1999, TV movie)) in Morte di un Bandito (1961). Last Year at Marienbad is certified fresh at 93 % with an 8.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Last Year at Marienbad? 

Harry og Kammertjeneren (1961) - Christensen's glorious Danish film treasure

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Hilarity seems promised on this humorous, sketched poster for Bent Christensen's Harry og Kammertjeneren

Harry lives in a shed on a junkyard and helps a greengrocer in the city, when he suddenly and out of the blue inherits a tidy sum of money. But the aging, single Harry only wants for the two of them to have a personal butler to make things a little nicer for them over-all.

Harry og Kammertjeneren is written by Leif Panduro (Støvsugerbanden (1963)) and Danish master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Bent Christensen (Pigen og Vandpytten (1958)), whose 4th feature it was. The Danish title translates to 'Harry and the butler'.

The story is a fantastically funny concept; proletarian manners meet a snooty butler's ditto, and added to that a series of delightful characters and marvelous acting performances: Osvald Helmuth (Hunger/Sult (1966)) and Ebbe Rode (Hærværk (1977)) are touching and incredibly good in the title parts, which also, - in case you were wondering, - do have a gay tongue-in-cheek dimension to it, (the two basically become like an old married couple.)

Harry og Kammertjeneren is inventive and unique, outrageously funny and insightful, humanistic and life-affirming at the same time. Henning Moritzen (Onkel Vanja, TV movie (1971)), Gunnar Lauring (Der Var Engang (1966)) as the bishop and Lily Broberg (Stormvarsel (1968)) as the barkeep, along with Palle Kirk (Der Var Engang en Krig (1966)) as the boy with the rocket and the girl with the 'pearls' are all first rate. Harry og Kammertjeneren is a true Danish film treasure.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain (but reportedly a hit)

[Harry og Kammertjeneren was released September (Denmark) and runs 105 minutes. Christensen bought the concept from a Dutch colleague for 2.5k DKK (approximately 360 $). Helmuth accepted the part for a small 30k DKK salary, approximately 4.5k $, but the actors reportedly invested their salary into the production, which Christensen financed himself. Shooting took place in Denmark. The film was a success in Denmark, allowing Christensen to become an important Danish producer/filmmaker. It was screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic and had general releases in Argentina and Finland (and likely more markets). The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, lost to Through a Glass Darkly. James Stewart met Fritz Helmuth, Osvald Helmuth's son at a film festival a few years after the film's release, telling him that he had voted for it as an academy member and thought it was one of the best he had ever seen. A long talked about American remake never came to fruition. Christensen returned with Sømænd og Svigermødre (1962). Helmuth returned in Den Hvide Hingst (1961); Rode in Søskende (1961, TV movie), Et Brev til En Søn (1961, TV movie) and theatrically in Det Stod i Avisen (1962). 471 IMDb users have given Harry og Kammertjeneren a 7.5/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Harry og Kammertjeneren?

Hercules and the Captive Women/Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide/Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis/Hercules Conquers Atlantis (1961) - Reg Park debuts in rotten peplum pic

[ZERO]

 

Almost pornographic sexploitation-style poster for Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women

A woman is saved from some 'monsters', and Hercules almost goes to war in the city Atlantis, (which hasn't sunk yet.)

 

Hercules and the Captive Women is written by Sandro Continenza (The Inglorious Bastards/Quel Maledetto treno Blindato (1978)), Duccio Tessari (Marco Polo (1962)), Nicolò Ferrari (Laura Nuda (1961)) and co-writer/director Vittorio Cottafavi (I Nostri Sogni (1943)).

What exactly this film is about may be difficult to say. It is bad to the point of being demented, and especially the infernally noisy 'score' (by Gino Marinuzzi Jr. (Appointment for Murder/Amo un Assassino (1951)) and Armando Trovajoli (Gangsters (1992))) rests as a curse over Hercules and the Captive Women. 

The work done here is dreadful behind the camera, script, acting and special effects. There's also an enormous waste of resources (sets, costumes etc.) in this utter trash.

 

Related posts:

 

Other Hercules movies: Hercules (2014) - Ratner and Johnson's forgettable noisemaker 

Hercules in New York (1970) - Arnie's big, bulging debut 

Hercules Unchained/Ercole e la Regina di Lidia (1959) - Spaghetti decadence never fades

In this short 1951 video clip, Reg Park is named Mr. Universe

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[Hercules and the Captive Women was released 19 August (Italy) and runs 101 minutes. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy. It was released re-edited, rescored, retitled and with a new title sequence in North America in 1963. Cottafavi returned with 13 TV movies prior to his theatrical return with 100 Horsemen (1964). Reg Park (Hercules the Avenger/La Sfida dei Giganti (1965)) returned in Hercules in the Haunted World/Ercole al Centro della Terra (1961); Fay Spain (Gunslinger (1961, TV-series)) in 4 TV-series prior to her theatrical return in Black Gold (1962). 1.4k+ IMDb users have given Hercules and the Captive Women a 4.1/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Hercules and the Captive Women?

The Guns of Navarone (1961) - Thompson's wonderful war-adventure classic

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The starry cast encased in striking Greek columns make up this exciting poster for J. Lee Thompson's The Guns of Navarone

WWII: 2,000 British prisoners of war are set to be executed, after they have been captured by Axis powers on a Greek island, if the Navy fail to break them free; but the Nazis have two enormous cannons, which hinder the rescue operation.

 

The Guns of Navarone is written by writer/producer Carl Foreman (Young Man with a Horn (1950)), adapting the same-titled 1957 bestseller by Alistair McLean (South by Java Head (1958)), and directed by great British filmmaker J. Lee Thompson (Murder Without Crime (1950)).

The film is a rare, wonderful war adventure. Gregory Peck (Yellow Sky (1948)) as Captain Mallory get the 'impossible mission', and he and David Niven (Goodyear Theatre (1957-58)) as a pedantically philosophizing chaplain have some really good scenes together, especially when Peck, - who has one of his career's best heroic parts here, - puts Niven in his place. Anthony Quayle (Jarrett (1973, TV movie)) with gangrene, and a bitter Anthony Quinn (The Message (1976)) are also terrific in the fine cast.

The Guns of Navarone is grand, a beautiful production with a great Dimitri Tiomkin (Blowing Wild (1953)) score. Technically there are shots in the film that are lacking a bit in quality. But this is a very minor note to a really wonderful film.

Related posts:

J. Lee Thompson: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) or, The Ape Uprising

Cape Fear (1962) - Great suspense in effective home invasion thriller 

 Writer-producer Foreman discusses the film in a 2-minute clip here

 

Cost: 6 mil. $

Box office: 25 mil. $ (worldwide rentals); likely gross of 55.5 mil. $

= Mega-hit (likely returned around 9.25 times its cost)

[The Guns of Navarone premiered 27 April (London) and runs 158 minutes. MacLean's novel was inspired by the Battle of Leros during WWII. Head of Columbia Pictures Mike Frankovich had read the novel and passed it excitedly on to Foreman to adapt. Alexander Mackendrick was set to direct but was fired a week prior to shooting over 'creative differences'. Shooting took place in Senegal, Greece, England, Mexico and in Los Angeles from February - July 1960. Niven got seriously ill and nearly died after filming in the pool of water beneath the cave elevator and was hospitalized for weeks, as production continued but under great uncertainty. He finally recovered and was able to complete his scenes. Peck's German was dubbed. Several members of the Greek royal family visited the set and were used as extras in the Mandrakos café scene. The film stays close to the novel; the island of Navarone is fictional. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the London premiere. The film was a great success, grossing 28.9 mil. $ in North America, with rentals of 13 mil. $. With worldwide rentals of 25 mil. $, if multiplied accordingly, the world gross would be 55.5 mil. $. The film was the year's 2nd highest-grossing of all, after West Side Story. It was nominated for 7 Oscars; it won the Best Special Effects Oscar, and lost Best Director to Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story, Editing to West Side Story, Drama/Comedy Score to Henry Mancini for Breakfast at Tiffany's, Picture to West Side Story, Sound to West Side Story and Adapted Screenplay to Abby Mann for Judgment at Nuremberg. It also won 2/3 Golden Globe nominations, and was nominated for a BAFTA and a Grammy among other honors. MacLean's 1968 sequel novel (the only sequel he ever wrote) was adapted as the same-titled Force 10 from Navarone (1978), without any of the talent of the original film involved; it was unsuccessful. Thompson returned with Cape Fear (1962). Peck returned in that film; Niven in The Best of Enemies (1961); Quinn in Barabbas (1961). The Guns of Navarone is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.93/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Guns of Navarone?

The Deadly Companions (1961) - Peckinpah's debut is a tough, great, suspense-filled western

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The well-drawn, sexually suggestive poster for Sam Peckinpah's The Deadly Companions

QUICK REVIEW:

We follow a Yankee soldier, who for five years has hunted the man who nearly scalped him in the war. When he finally tracks him down, he accidentally comes to shoot a 9 year-old boy instead of the culprit, and a kind of pilgrimage through Apache land with the boy's coffin, his prostitute mother and two additional, deadly companions begins.

Deadly Companions is the eminently written western suspense story by Albert Sidney Fleischman (Hell Bent for Glory (1958)), who also novelized his script, which became the proficient feature debut for great American director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch (1969)), who had previously directed episodes of 5 TV-series.
The script contains poignant lines and two great lead characters, who are both very strong and very vulnerable at the same time, played by Maureen O'Hara (Rio Grande (1950)) and Brian Keith (Centennial (1978-79)).
The Deadly Companions is a very fine debut indeed.

Related review:

Sam Peckinpah: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) - A manly respite with Robards and Peckinpah

Watch a preview for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[Deadly Companions was shot in Arizona on a low budget, although how low is not possible to say. - Peckinpah, who was hired based on Keith's recommendation of him, got a lot out of it in any case. He worked without script control or editing rights, and he vowed after the film to never work without script control again, (a little strange, since Fleishman's script is pretty great.) Unfortunately, no box office figures are out online either. The film was in public domain for a while, but seems to be copyrighted today. - Any western and/or Peckinpah aficionado should do themselves the favor of buying a copy!]

What do you think of The Deadly Companions?

El Cid (1961) - Charlton Heston unites Spain in Mann's glorious epic

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Anthony Mann's El Cid may have the most braggadocio tagline (IN A THOISAND YEARS!)

QUICK REVIEW:

This is the story of the Spanish folk hero, who stubbornly resisted the dictatorship of the monarchs and fought against the African Islamists, - side by side with the Spanish moors.

Charlton Heston (Ben-Hur (1959)) and Sophia Loren (Aida (1953)) are formidable in this epic, which has everything that its kind should have of intrigue, murder, love and self-sacrifice, shot on location in Spain and in Rome.
El Cid packs grand sword fights and battle scenes; Miklós Rózsa's (Ben-Hur) Oscar-nominated music is eminent. The film only has slight, visual imperfections and a somewhat muted color scheme, (unless this is just a decision on the part of the restoration team?)
In any case, El Cid is a solid, fine film that remains relevant today. It is directed by Anthony Mann (Winchester '73 (1950)), whose 4th to last film this is.

Related review:

Anthony Mann: Cimarron (1960) - A fine epic western settler adaptation

The Italian poster for Anthony Mann's El Cid unsurprisingly pushes Sophia Loren's involvement to the forefront

Watch the film's epic trailer here, which stresses its countless great qualities!

Cost: 6.2 mil. $
Box office: 26.6-30 mil. $ (US only)
= Big hit (at least!)
[I have only been able to find the American box office numbers, which vary as noted. Depending on how big a hit the film was abroad, (probably big in Europe especially), it might have bee not only a big but a huge hit, (although it certainly did not cap William Wyler's spectacular Ben-Hur.) El Cid was Oscar-nominated for Art Direction, Score and Best Song.]

What do you think of El Cid?
Other fine Mann pictures?

Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) - Cheap, fast, amusing spoof/spy thriller/creature feature

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Fetching poster, although nothing of the kind visualized here happens in Roger Corman's Creature From the Haunted Sea, where the monster has a normal human-sized hand (because it's a human in a terrible monster suit)

QUICK REVIEW:

Creature From the Haunted Sea presents a really far out story about an undercover agent, a Cuban treasure and a homicidal sea monster. - It's a strange film!
Creature From the Haunted Sea is a hopelessly primitive genre hybrid, part horror, part spy movie, and part spoof comedy (of gangster and monster movies). It is made in an irreverent tone that makes a good deal of what happens amusing for people who are familiar with these genres and/or with filmmaker Roger Corman's (The Fall of the House of Usher (1960)) body of work.
This film has many weird and funny elements in it: A murder with a plunger. Two leading roles who throughout the movie communicate in animal sounds. The 'shocking' monster, which mostly looks like a person in a bad Halloween suit, (because that's what it basically is.) Underwater scenes with a lot of animals. And then of course the extensive dialog in Spanish, which is very funny.
Some may sit back after watching Creature From the Haunted Sea with a feeling of 'why?'. Corman probably would answer, 'why not!?!' - If you can make money making a movie like this, why the heck wouldn't you?!? (A very good point, I think.)
The film is in public domain now and available for free and legal watch here.
After a gif of the "unspeakable secret of the SEA OF LOST SHIPS", some hysterical trivia about the movie will follow:

The monster suit, on terrifying display up here, was reportedly devised from a wet suit, some moss, lots of Brillo pads, tennis balls for the eyes, ping pong balls for the pupils, pipe-cleaners for claws and oilcloth for slime effect.
Apart from the funny Spanish in the film, a lot of the English dialog is hilarious as well. Examples:

Sparks Moran: [as Carmelita embraces and kisses him] As a trained espionage agent I could tell that she was attracted to me. 

Sparks Moran: [narrating] The first move in the great conspiracy had been made. The Cuban treasury was now in the gentle hands of Renzo Capetto, the most trustworthy man ever to be deported from Sicily. They thought they were home-free, but little did they know that I, Sparks Moran, was an American agent. Luckily, I had managed to work my way onto the crew by posing as a notorious gun machine burglar from Chicago. My real name is XK-15.

This often narrating character 'Sparks Moran' is played by Robert Towne, the later in life screenwriter legend of Chinatown (1974), The Firm (1993), Mission: Impossible II (2000) etc. (Towne is credited as 'Edward Wain'.)

The movie was written in three days, based on a script that Corman had already filmed twice before, as Naked Paradise and Beast From Haunted Cave. The film was shot back-to-back between The Last Woman on Earth and Battle of Blood Island, two films that Corman was shooting in Puerto Rico for tax incentive reasons.
The film was shot in 5 days, with Mexican extras being paid 1 $ to participate. The score for Creature of the Haunted Sea is by Fred Katz, another wild-man, who allegedly sold Corman the same score for seven different films, including Creature From the Haunted Sea, A Bucket of Blood, The Wasp Woman and The Little Shop of Horrors.

Related reviews.

Roger Corman:  Philadelphia (1993) - AIDS and homosexuality acknowledged in great drama (actor)
The Wild Angels (1966) - Young biker rebels deliver a counter-culture punch in Corman's hands
House of Usher/The Fall of the House of Usher/The Mysterious House of Usher (1960) - Corman's exuberant first house pf Poeish horror

Watch the self-parodying, strange trailer here

Budget: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown

Did you see Creature From the Haunted Sea?
What did you think?
What do you think of Roger Corman and his cheap, fast movies?

Bloodlust! (1961) or, The Mad Island Doctor!

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Powerful horrors seem to be promised on this savage poster for Ralph Brooke's Bloodlust!

   

4 people and a drunken captain step ashore on a jungle island ruled by an evil hunter of animals and humans alike. A man driven by bloodlust! - Will they survive him?

Bloodlust is written, co-produced and directed by debuting Ralph Brooke (Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946, uncredited actor)). It is a boring and uninventive little horror movie based on Richard Connell's (The Mad Lover (1928)) short story, The Most Dangerous Game (1924).

The villain is a boring, mad doctor, and the rest of the characters are just as boring.
Bloodlust! features unnecessary amounts of screaming, and the line 'So long, suckers!', which is one of the only moments that it approaches being anything mildly enjoyable. (Fortunately, it only runs 68 minutes.)

Watch a 4-minute video with clips of the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain 

[Bloodlust! was released 13 September (USA) and runs 68 minutes. Shooting took place around January 1959 in Los Angeles, California. The film was released on a double bill with The Devil's Hand (1961). It was also released in Canada, Mexico and the USSR. Details concerning its budget and gross numbers are regrettably lost. The film is in public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legal right here. Brooke only returned with two shorts but never again a feature. Wilton Graff (Surfside 6 (1960, TV-series)) returned in Tales of Wells Fargo (1958-61) and theatrically in Sail a Crooked Ship (1961); Lilyan Chauvin (Catch Me If You Can (2002)) in Back Street (1961). 2.5k+ IMDb users have given Bloodlust! a 3.6/10 average rating.]

 
What do you think of Bloodlust!?

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) or, The Mad Doctor Javorsky!

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A long list of names are listed in the service of selling Coleman Francis' The Beast of Yucca Flats on this poster

 

Soviet scientist, Joseph Javorsky, who may be a murderer, (but probably isn't), is on the run in Yucca Flats with a briefcase of military secrets. Hunted by the KGB, he wanders into an American nuclear test site and the radiation alters him into a killing beast! He must be stopped!!!

 
The Beast of Yucca Flats is written, co-produced, directed and co-edited by debuting Coleman Francis (Red Zone Cuba (1966)). It is an extremely poorly put together nuclear scare low-budget indie. It starts with a nude murder scene that doesn't really have any relation to the rest of the film. There's not much dialogue, and what there is gets said by faces unseen, - to make the dubbing easier. Guns also fire off-screen for the same reason. People get shot and are then OK in following shots. And the main dramatic action is either laid in the hands of the exerted, foreign giant, who heaves his way around the dessert landscape, or the narrator, who informs us whenever there is a plot point in the story, and is pretty much there to mysteriously guide us through the entire movie. Another bad indication is that Francis did the narration himself.
The Beast of Yucca Flats is infamous as one of the worst films of all time, and it certainly is almost unbelievably bad.
The film stars Swedish wrestler turned strong man and then monster actor, Tor Johnson (Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)) as staggering nuclear monster Javorsky. The one heart that the film gets here is for Johnson and for the still entertaining bad movie value that the outrageous narration and lines lend to the film. Here's a rather long list of ludicrous lines from it, (but which of these could I really with any justification have left out?...)

 
Narrator: A man runs, someone shoots at him

Narrator: Flag on the moon. How did it get there?

Narrator: Boys from the city. Not yet caught by the whirlwind of Progress. Feed soda pop to the thirsty pigs.

Narrator: Touch a button. Things happen. A scientist becomes a beast.

[after one of the Beast's victims dies:]
Joe Dobson: Well, doctors can't help her. Maybe angels, but not doctors.

[last lines:]
Narrator: Joseph Javorski. Noted scientist.
 

And as for the Swedish-born beast star, here's a collection of some of the many humorous faces of our good pal Johnson:

 

 

 

 

 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 34k $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain

[The Beast of Yucca Flats was released 2 May (USA) and runs 54 minutes. Shooting took place in 1959 in California, including in Los Angeles. Details on the film's theatrical earnings or scope are regrettably not to be found online. Francis returned with The Skydivers (1963). Johnson returned in The Dick Powell Theatre (1961, TV-series) and theatrically in Head (1968). 12k+ IMDb users have given The Beast of Yucca Flats a 1.8/10 average rating.]

 
 
What do you think of The Beast of Yucca Flats?