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     The Count of Monte Cristo
1934  NR  DRAMA  1h 53min
CAST— Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn, O. P. Heggie, Luis Alberni, Irene Hervey
MUSIC— Alfred Newman  DIRECTOR— Rowland V. Lee  BASED ON— The Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) (novel), by Alexandre Dumas

     Intrigue and adventure unfold in this poetic vision of Alexandre Dumas’ classic account of revenge and redemption. A loyal sailor, Edmond Dantes, unwittingly becomes a key player in a game of espionage. Falsely accused of treason he’s sent away to rot in the secluded prison fortress of Château Dif. After years of imprisonment a fellow prisoner tells him of a fortune lying in secret on a faraway island. Dantes escapes prison, finds the treasure, and uses the funds to finance his revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment. A story often told, often retold, but many consider this to be one of the finest interpretations.
OUR RATING— ** ½
FOLLOWED BY— The Return of Monte Cristo (1936), The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)

REMADE AS— The Count of Monte Cristo (1954/1961/2002)

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     The Corsican Brothers
1941  NR  ADVENTURE  1h 41min
CAST— Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carroll Naish, H. B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon
MUSIC— Dimitri Tiomkin  DIRECTOR— Gregory Ratoff  BASED ON— The Corsican Brothers (Les Frères Corses) (story), by Alexandre Dumas

     Entertaining adventure yarn, told when heroes were dashing and villains were vile. The dashing heroes of this tale are twins; not just any twins, but joined at birth. After a hasty but miraculous surgical procedure the conjoined twins were separated. But good fortune was not on their side: their entire family was wiped out by a clan of feuding landowners led by the villainous Collona. The twins were believed to have been killed in the devastating raid on their ancestral home, but they were snuck out and raised separately for twenty years. After learning of their family’s fate they vow to wage full out war against Collona, never stopping until justice has been served. Exciting sword play, smoldering romance, and fine effects add oomph to an already enjoyable feature. Final note: Cheech and Chong made their own version of the tale in 1984. Just turn around and walk away from that one.
OUR RATING— ** ½
ORIGINAL— The Corsican Brothers (1898/1912/1915/1920)
REMADE AS— Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers (1984), The Corsican Brothers (1985)

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     The Corpse Vanishes
1942  NR  HORROR  1h 4min
CAST— Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin, Elizabeth Russell, Vince Barnett, Joan Barclay, Angelo Rossitto
MUSIC— Johnny Lange, Lew Porter  DIRECTOR— Wallace Fox

     Bela Lugosi sure has a thing for the bodily fluids. In this forgotten chiller he stars as a maniacal horticulturist who kidnaps young brides for said juices, later injecting the stuff into his aging wife for a more youthful glow. Skip it.
OUR RATING— *

     Coraline
2008  PG  ANIMATED  1h 40min
CAST— Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Ian McShane
MUSIC— Bruno Coulais  DIRECTOR— Henry Selick  BASED ON— Coraline (story), by Neil Gaiman

     An odd, borderline disturbing stop-motion animated feature. Coraline is an ordinary girl searching her new environment. When her family relocates to a crumbling apartment she discovers another world behind a tiny door in the wall. This mirror realm of doppelgangers at first seems to be a perfect fit for the young girl, but lurking beneath its deceptive veneer is a place utterly dark and creepy. She must struggle to return to her own life; if only her Other Mother would let her escape. Splendid animation is the highlight of this truly weird film that may induce a few chills. Though the intended demographic is the younger crowd parents may want to view beforehand.
OUR RATING— ** ½

     Cool Hand Luke
1967  NR  DRAMA  2h 6min
CAST— Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Robert Drivas, Lou Antonio, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet
MUSIC— Lalo Schifrin  DIRECTOR— Stuart Rosenberg  BASED ON— Cool Hand Luke (novel), by Donn Pearce

     When the going gets tough play it cool. That’s what Luke does and he seems to be doing just fine. Then again, he is in prison… Paul Newman plays Luke, a likable, easy-going guy with sharp instincts and what is dubbed “that Luke smile”. He’s sent up the river for two years and spends his time on a chain gang in a prison work camp. But life isn’t all hard work; he also makes a few comrades in his fellow inmates. But, due to various escape attempts, he makes some powerful enemies of the warden and his minions. A fine drama with brief glimpses of comedy, tragedy and suspense add up to a classic that stands the test of time, despite various imitations. Oscar-winner for Best Supporting Actor (George Kennedy). Deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry.
OUR RATING— ***

     The Conspirator
2010  PG-13  DRAMA  2h 3min
CAST— James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Justin Long, Tom Wilkinson
MUSIC— Mark Isham  DIRECTOR— Robert Redford  BASED ON— True events

     Think the death of Abraham Lincoln was the end of the story? Guess again. The next chapter culminated in the death of Lincoln’s assassin, the actor John Wilkes Booth. But what led up to this tragedy that robbed a nation of its president? There must have been extensive planning done by more than just Booth. And who were his co-conspirators? Our story centers on the political fallout of the assassination as those accused of aiding the killer are put on trial. In particular we are treated to a young lawyer’s (James McAvoy) grim determination to defend the sole woman accused, a landlord whose boarding house was used as a secret meeting place for those involved, young men scheming against Lincoln, all of whom were loyal to the Confederacy. But McAvoy will not have an easy time of it; the accused is a strong-willed widow who definitely knows more than she is telling. Even though facing death she remains tight-lipped about certain people and events that transpired in her home. A fascinating portrait of a lesser known piece of American history, one that changed the court system and the very rights of courtroom defendants. Gripping and intriguing throughout with brilliant performances by a vast cast. A surprise.
OUR RATING— ***

     Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972  PG  SCIENCE FICTION  1h 28min
CAST— Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalbán, Natalie Trundy, Hari Rhodes
MUSIC— Tom Scott  DIRECTOR— J. Lee Thompson

     A darker vision of Earth, circa 1991. In the ‘80s a virus wiped out all dogs and cats so the next choice of pet were monkeys and apes. Now simians are treated as slaves. But remember Ricardo Montalbán from Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)? For the past twenty years he’s been raising the offspring of Cornelius and Zira, and Caesar is the only ape on Earth with advanced, human-like mannerisms. Of course this makes him a threat to the rest of humanity’s apes, so he goes incognito as a dumb ape, infiltrating the world of the captive. He soon sees the brutality his fellow apes face daily and figures enough is enough; he stages a massive revolt. Soon it’s ape vs. man in a battle that sees the city streets a violent mass of teeming flesh and fur. Will mankind prevail or will tonight be the dawn of a planet of the apes? Entertaining, if only to see the put upon apes stick it to the man. As previously mentioned, this is a darker, far more grim vision than previous Apes films, but necessary for the Apes mythology to progress.
OUR RATING— ** ½
PRECEDED BY— Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
FOLLOWED BY— Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)