House Of The Long Shadows

UK, 1983. Directed by Pete Walker. Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Carradine, Richard Todd, Desi Arnaz jr., Sheila Keith, Julie Peasgood.

This reworking of an oft-filmed story provided an opportunity for a number of ageing horror icons to work together. You have to wait half an hour or so, but when they finally appear Price, Lee and Cushing are all given theatrical entrances as befits their stature. They, together with Carradine, Keith and Todd, all have generous amounts of screen time and all are enjoyable to watch. One suspects Peter Cushing in particular enjoyed his role. Sadly the film itself is not up to much, suffering as it does from a creaky plot and a triple-twist ending which falls flat. A tongue-in-cheek, PG-rated horror which is disappointing but enjoyable for those interested in seeing all those actors together in the same room.

Hard Eight

USA, 1996. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffmann.

An early film from this talented writer-director (made in his mid-twenties) and a hint at the riches to come. A character study wrapped up as a thriller of sorts, this boasts excellent performances from all concerned, particularly Philip Baker Hall in the pivotal role of Sydney. With his superb dialogue and the understated performances he draws from his actors, Anderson has created a compelling drama which is never predictable, always believable and continually fascinating to watch. Highly recommended.

Confessions

Japan, 2010.  Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima.  Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii, Kaoru Fujiwara, Ai Hashimoto.

A disturbing and dreamlike psychological thriller which starts quietly but builds its tension well and remains very watchable throughout.  It follows the Japanese trend in movies in its obsession with schoolchildren and violence.  Made in a theatrical, flamboyant style with a great deal of flair, it tells its story through a number of viewpoints, using voice-overs of the relevant characters.  Well worth a look.

Petticoat Pirates

UK, 1961.  Directed by David MacDonald.  Charlie Drake, Anne Heywood, Cecil Parker, John Turner, Thorley Walters, Maxine Audley, Eleanor Summerfield, Victor Maddern, Lionel Murton, Barbara Hicks, Dilys Laye, Michael Ripper, Anton Rodgers.

A rather lame British comedy conceived as a star vehicle for Charlie Drake.  Packed with the usual character actors of the period, everyone does their best, but no-one can save it from being tiresome.  Anne Heywood looks as if she knows she deserves better than this but grits her teeth and gets on with it.  Perhaps mercifully, our Charlie isn’t in every scene and seems superfluous to the plot, but pops up every so often to do a (not terribly funny) routine and then disappear again.  I rather got  the impression that someone had an old script lying around and decided to rewrite it around him.

Just William

UK, 1940. Directed by Graham Cutts. Dicky Lupino, Fred Emney, Basil Radford, Amy Veness, Roddy McDowall, Iris Hoey, Simon Lack.

Though looking very creaky now, and despite the fact that Dicky Lupino makes a somewhat chubbier version of William than rests in most people’s imaginations, this is an entertaining little film which succeeds in capturing some of the flavour of Richmal Crompton’s characters. Interesting to see a comparatively young Fred Emney as William’s father and future international star Roddy McDowall in one of his earliest roles before moving to Hollywood.