But Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills was written and directed by Paul Bartel, the creative mind behind such irreverent comedies as Eating Raoul and Lust in the Dust. This 1989 movie may look classy out of the gate, but how long will it remain that way?
Not very long!
The setting (obviously) is Beverly Hills, California. Claire (Jacqueline Bisset), a former sitcom star and recent widow, lives in a posh mansion with her teenage daughter Zandra (Rebecca Schaeffer) and her servants, Rosa (Edith Diaz) and Juan (Robert Beltran). Claire’s next-door neighbor and good friend, the newly-divorced Lisabeth (Mary Woronov) is having her mansion fumigated, and she and her entourage, including her terminally ill son Willie (Barret Oliver) and houseboy Frank (Ray Starkey), will be staying at Claire’s until the work is finished.
Joining them are Lisabeth’s playwright brother Peter (Ed Begley Jr.) and Peter’s new wife, To-Bel (Arnetia Walker), who have known each other a week and were hitched two days earlier in Las Vegas. Also popping in from time-to-time are Claire’s nutritionist Dr. Mo (Bartel) and his dog Bojangles; Lisabeth’s sorrowful ex-husband Howard (Wallace Shawn); and the spirit of Claire’s deceased husband Sidney (Paul Mazursky), who, though he ignored her in life, wants another shot at romance now that he’s in the great beyond!
The story kicks off with Juan and Frank making a bet with one another: who will be the first to bed the other’s employer? Frank, a smooth talker who is already sleeping with Zandra, puts the moves on Claire while the more reserved Juan musters up the courage to flirt with Lisabeth. But like any soap opera, there is a lot more to it than that, with secrets, infidelities and deceptions aplenty.
Bartel assembled a dream cast for Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, and all are wonderful in their parts. Beltran is strong as Juan, one of the film’s few likable characters and a role that essentially makes him the lead. He needs $5,000 to pay off his loan shark (Jerry Tondo), and Frank has offered to front him the money if he wins the bet (I’ll leave it for you to discover what Frank gets if he wins). But while Frank has turned seduction into an art form, Juan doesn’t have it in him, and his attempts to woo Lisabeth are, at times, clumsy.
As for the rest of the film’s colorful characters, you’ll need a scorecard to figure out who is sleeping with who, and when. Though married to Peter, To-Bel gets around, and is hiding a couple of secrets from her new husband. But then Peter is no saint, and puts the moves on Claire the minute the two of them are alone.
Written by Bruce Wagner (from a story by he and Bartel), Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is, at all times, a witty satire of television soap operas, with lines that will have you laughing out loud. Returning home from the funeral for Sidney, who died of auto-erotic asphyxiation while cheating on her, Claire says, matter-of-factly, to Dr. Mo “It’s finally over. Sidney Lipkin Companies have completed their much-awaited merger with Mother Earth, Inc. That should give the sagging maggot industry an instantaneous boost in the arm”.
Yet, as unlikable as just about every character (with one or two exceptions) can be in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, we do eventually develop a sort of affection for them (some of them, anyway), and look forward to discovering which characters will have a happy ending, and which will be left out to dry. And much like the movie itself, the answers will both surprise you and make you laugh.
Rating: 8 out of 10
The action then switches to young Cody, played by Henry Thomas, as he attempts to break a speed record on his bike. Using a contraption that attaches it to a railway line, Cody pedals as fast as he can, with most of the town there rooting him on. He does manage to beat the record, but his brakes fail. He careens down a hill and comes to a crashing stop.
At this point in The Quest, we haven’t been properly introduced to the characters, and know very little of the story. But Trenchard-Smith and screenwriter Everett De Roche (who also penned Patrick, Long Weekend, and Razorback) have already conjured up plenty of excitement to grab our attention.
And there’s more where that came from!
Born in America but adopted (unofficially) by Gaza (Tony Barry) when his parents died, Cody is a daredevil, a kid who is addicted to adventure. Joined one afternoon by his friend (and love interest) Wendy (Rachel Friend) as well as Wendy’s little sister Jane (Tamsin West), Cody leads the two to a place called Devil’s Knob, where he stumbles upon Neville’s pond from the opening scene. The three also notice the bubbles, and, eventually, even spot the monster. They also discover the decaying remains of poor Neville!
Though warned by the authorities to stay away from the area, and despite the protests of Jane’s parents (Dennis Miller and Katy Manning), Cody and his friends continue to investigate the mysteries of the pond, which the Aborigines believe is haunted by a creature known as a “Donkegin”. Determined to solve this mystery, Cody seeks out an Aborigine known as Charley Pride (Dempsey Knight), who knows more about the area, and the Donkegin, than anyone alive
As he did with 1983’s BMX Bandits, Trenchard-Smith proves with The Quest that he is a natural at turning out family adventures. The story is never dull, and there are plenty of thrills (and even a few scares) to keep the kids entertained.
It dose seem a bit odd that Henry Thomas, a few years removed from his star-making turn in Spielberg’s E.T., played the lead in what is an otherwise very Australian movie, and it didn’t help matters that his performance was a bit flat at times. Cody is a free-spirit, a daredevil who faces every challenge head-on, yet Thomas appears bored in several scenes, and is often overshadowed by Friend and West, who are strong as the sisters that tag along with him. There are moments when Thomas does come alive, especially in the last act (when he needed to), but he is the weak link in an otherwise solid cast.
Shot on-location in Victoria, including scenes set at the Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve in Mount Eliza, Trenchard-Smith and director of Photography John R. McLean manage to make the film’s setting feel like a character all its own. I especially liked the garage where Cody and Gaza reside, which features a few surprises for anyone who visits unannounced.
The picturesque landscape, along with the film’s solid pacing and an intriguing central mystery (is there really a monster in the pond?), make The Quest a winner, and, despite a scene or two that might frighten very young children, is a film the kids are sure to love!
Rating: 8 out of 10
According to anthropologist Stanley Shepherd (Timothy Hutton), it’s a neanderthal man, frozen some 40,000 years ago. While running tests to see if any of his cells survived the freezing process, Dr. Diane Brady (Lindsey Crouse) and her team, including Whitman (Josef Sommer), Dr. Vermeil (Philip Akin), Loomis (Danny Glover), and surgeon Singe (David Straithaim), make a startling discovery: this neanderthal (played by John Lone) is not only a perfect specimen, but can actually be revived!
Placed in a habitat so they can study his behavior, the prehistoric man eventually realizes his situation, at which point Shepherd, who nicknamed the neanderthal “Charlie”, attempts to communicate with him. But how long will Shepherd and the others have access to Charlie before medical science gets its hands on him?
There are a number of well-directed, perfectly paced sequences scattered throughout Iceman. The initial thawing, which brings us to the edge of our seats, is immediately followed by another exciting scene, when the amazed researchers actually bring their subject back to life. Another great sequence occurs late in the film, when Charlie, left unsupervised, makes his way out of the habitat and into the research facility. Schepisi expertly directs his entire walk, during which Charlie encounters everything from a mirror to automatic sliding doors.
Filling the gap nicely between these “big” scenes are Shepherd’s efforts to communicate with the very confused Charlie, with Hutton turning in a fine performance as the scientist who takes a personal interest in his subject’s well-being.
Standing above all else, though, is John Lone as Charlie; he is jaw-droppingly amazing! Even when we don’t understand Charlie’s guttural grunts, we can see, in Lone’s eyes, exactly what he is feeling. The actor perfectly conveys his character’s every thought and emotion, even the primitive ones, and it’s watching Lone’s performance that makes Iceman such an engaging motion picture.
The film does stagger a bit when it comes to revealing what will happen to Charlie once he leaves the habitat. Will he be subjected to experiments? Will he be dissected? Will they find him an apartment in Anchorage and help him land a job? It’s never really explained. But in a movie as strong as Iceman, this is a minor quibble, and watching Schepisi and Lone do their thing is alone worth the price of admission.
Rating: 9 out of 10
it may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.
It may have happened. It may not have happened.
But it could have happened”
Producer Alexander Salkind and director Richard Fleischer assemble an all-star cast for 1977’s Crossed Swords, a retelling of Mark Twain’s classic story The Prince and the Pauper.
A chance meeting between peasant Tom Canty (Mark Lester) and Edward, Prince of Wales (also played by Lester) results in the two, who look identical to one another, exchanging clothes. Edward had been looking for a costume for a palace masquerade ball, and feels that Tom’s ragged outfit would be a perfect disguise. But instead, the palace guards mistake Edward for a commoner and have him removed from the castle. Frightened and out of his element, Tom finds himself thrust into the role of heir apparent to the throne of England!
With the help of mercenary Miles Henden (Oliver Reed), Edward tries desperately to convince the world he is, in fact, the prince. His situation becomes even more precarious when Henry VIII (Charlton Heston) dies, and all of England prepares for the upcoming coronation of his successor. If Edward doesn’t figure out a way to prove his true identity, Tom will instead be the one crowned the new King!
Mark Lester is good as both the prince and the pauper, conveying the changes that each character undergoes as they’re forced to live the life of the other. Tom eventually starts acting like a prince, and announces his intention to marry Jane (Felicity Dean), lady-in-waiting of the princess Elizabeth (Lalla Ward). As for Edward, he gets a first-hand look at the poverty that grips most of England, as well as the injustices many are forced to endure. As a result, he vows to rule more humanely than his oft-tyrannical father. That is, if he can somehow convince everyone he’s the rightful heir.
Despite playing the film’s two main characters, however, Lester is upstaged at nearly every turn by the film’s amazing supporting cast. Oliver Reed bellows and huffs as Miles, the professional soldier who takes it upon himself to protect Edward, all the while believing the young man has lost his mind (like everyone else, Miles doesn’t think for a second Edward is the real prince). Even better is Charlton Heston’s turn as the sickly Henry VIII, conveying both the king’s treacherous nature (he orders his old friend the Duke of Norfolk, played wonderfully by Rex Harrison, arrested on a trumped-up charge of treason) as well as his genuine affection for his only son (there’s a sweet scene in which Henry, realizing the end is near, has a heart-to-heart with Tom, who, try as he might, can’t convince the king he’s not his son).
Rounding out the cast are Ernest Borgnine (whose British accent leaves a lot to be desired) as Tom’s abusive father; Raquel Welch as Miles’ beloved, Lady Edith; George C. Scott (a slightly better accent than Borgnine’s, but still nothing to write home about) as Ruffler, leader of a colony of beggars and thieves; and David Hemmings as Miles’ conniving brother Hugh. All are strong, though it’s Reed and Heston who stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Featuring a handful of swordfights (most involving Miles, many of which he loses) and some effective comedy (Tom, mistaken for the prince, is asked to lead a dance during the masquerade ball, and ends up tripping everyone around him), Crossed Swords is an entertaining watch, and is innocent enough in the telling (rated PG, there’s little violence and even less profanity) that the whole family can enjoy it.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Now, truth be told, that’s not how I originally thought Killdozer, a 1974 made-for-TV movie about a murderous bulldozer, would begin. But it certainly got my attention!
A team of workers is building an airstrip on the very island where the meteor landed. Under the watchful eye of foreman Lloyd Kelly (Clint Walker), the five-man crew relies on heavy machinery to get the job done. But when the always-reliable Mack (Robert Urich) attempts to move the mysterious meteor out of the way with his trusty D-9 bulldozer, an energy of some sort transfers from the space rock to the dozer, essentially bringing the big machine to life!
As Kelly and his crew, which also includes Dennis (Carl Betz), Chub (Neville Brand), Dutch (James Wainwright), and Beltran (James A. Watson, Jr.), are trying to figure out what has happened, the D-9 is getting down to business, killing everyone that dares to get in its way.
Directed by Jerry London, Killdozer has a lot in common with the sci-fi films of the 1950s, right down to the cheesy effects. Once it hits earth, the meteor looks like something out of 1958’s The Blob. As for the performances, they’re a mixed bag. I’m a fan of Clint Walker’s westerns, and in movies like Yellowstone Kelly and, especially, More Dead Than Alive, he was effective as the straight-laced hero. In Killdozer, he’s wooden. Whether being stern with his crew, getting angry at their lack of progress, or acting concerned for their safety, Walker’s tone remains the same throughout. The supporting players fare a little better, especially Neville Brand, whose Chub, the site’s mechanic, is the voice of reason; and Carl Betz is quite good as the enigmatic Dennis, a guy you’re never quite sure about.
The real star of Killdozer, though, is the rampaging D-9 bulldozer. Having already polished off one crewman, Kelly asks Chub to dismantle the D-9 and determine why it seems to have a mind of its own. Before Chub gets started, though, Beltran hops into the D-9 and takes off. Of course, he is not able to control it, and when the dozer finally comes to a stop, the radio has been destroyed and another person killed. Throughout the movie, the D-9 does everything from stalking the crew to starting avalanches, and despite its size, it moves pretty damn quickly.
It’s a silly premise, but it works because London and his cast play it 100% straight. And in this way, Killdozer is a nice homage to the sci-fi movies of old, when the goofy and unbelievable still managed to keep your eyes glued to the screen.
Rating: 7 out of 10
They aren’t what you would call good criminals. They make a lot of noise and, before they can get the safe open, are surprised by the police. What this opening scene does, and does well, is set the tone, the perfect balance of crime and comedy that is to follow.
More than this, it introduces us to the film’s main characters. And we like them! We don’t even know much about them, except that they’re lousy crooks, but we like them all the same. And by the time The Brink’s Job is over, we’ll absolutely love them!
Tony is the only one pinched by the cops during the above break-in, and is sent away for six years. When he’s released, it’s 1944, and World War II is still raging. He and Vinnie spend their days running a diner, which is doing ok business. But Tony is itching to get back to a life of crime and start making some real money again.
As with before, the heists he lines up are less than successful. Until, one afternoon, while he and Vinnie are out walking, they pass the Brinks Armored Car company, and catch a glimpse of all the cash they move on a daily basis.
With the help of his regular crew as well as newcomers Joe McGinnis (Peter Boyle), Specs O’Keefe (Warren Oates), and Jazz Maffie (Paul Sorvino), Tony plans and executes what would be, to that point, the biggest robbery in U.S. history. But with the cops, the FBI, and J. Edgar Hoover (Sheldon Leonard) breathing down his neck, it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll ever get a chance to spend a dime of the nearly $2 million he stole!
Friedkin and his team do their part to make The Brink’s Job an entertaining picture. Shot on-location in Boston (the Brinks heist is staged in the very building where, 30 years earlier, the real-life robbery that inspired it took place), the film has a realistic vibe, with Friedkin utilizing the same camera techniques and general style that gave The French Connection its almost documentary feel.
The film would also be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, which, in unison with the production design, costumes, even the music, convinces us we’ve gone back in time to the ‘30s, ‘40s and early ‘50s. On top of this, the film is wonderfully paced, and the later scenes, when the story takes a few dark turns, gel nicely with the earlier comedic sequences.
That said, it’s the cast that makes The Brink’s Job so damn endearing. Peter Falk is in top form as the less-than-talented crook who stumbles into a gold mine; the scenes where Tony is scoping out the Brink’s facility had me poised on the edge of my seat. Allen Garfield gets his share of laughs as the hapless Vinnie, the biggest of which comes during a gumball factory robbery. Warren Oates is also good as the slightly unhinged Specs, a former soldier who fought on the beaches of Normandy, and both Peter Boyle and Paul Sorvino make for convincing crooks. Together, each and every one, as well as Murphy, O’Conner and Gina Rowlands (as Tony’s wife, Mary), win us over, and we root like hell for them to not only pull off the crime of the century, but to get away with it!
Friedkin considers The Brink’s Job to be one of his lesser films, commenting that it featured “Little intensity or suspense”, and the comedy was an “acquired taste”. “The film doesn’t shout, it doesn’t sing”, he would write in his autobiography, “it barely whispers”. Well, as far as I’m concerned, that was one hell of a whisper! The Brink’s Job fires on all cylinders, and is flat-out fun.
Rating: 9 out of 10
