RIP Doris Day.

RIP Doris Day.

THE SHIRALEE (Dir: Leslie Norman, 1957).

One of the final productions from Ealing Films, released through MGM, The Shiralee was one of a handful of movies the company shot in Australia.

Aussie swagman Jim Macauley (Peter Finch) returns home to find his wife Marge (Elizabeth Sellars) in the arms of another man. After giving her lover a beating he takes their young daughter Buster (Dana Wilson) and hits the road. Travelling from job to job with the youngster in tow she thus becomes his ‘shiralee’, an Aboriginal term for burden. Fighting his way from one town to the next and abandoning Buster for a tryst with a shop assistant, Macauley makes for a somewhat unlikable central character and is a little difficult to sympathise with. In spite of which, Peter Finch does well in the lead.

Some comedy relief arrives in the form of Tessie O’Shea and Sidney James which, while a welcome break from the otherwise bleak narrative, represents such a shift in tone it feels like it belongs in a different movie. Presumably the Leslie Norman and Neil Paterson screenplay or, perhaps, the D’Arcy Niland novel from which it is sourced are to blame. As such, The Shiralee, while an easy film to admire, is a difficult film to wholeheartedly enjoy.

As director the underrated Norman is as efficient as ever and cinematographer Paul Beeson’s location footage from the streets of Sydney to the Outback is beautiful. A couple of Tommy Steele numbers on the soundtrack was a pleasant surprise.

While not among the very best work of Leslie Norman or Peter Finch, The Shiralee still has much to recommend it, from its beautifully shot locales to its stellar cast. A commendable effort to expand the range of the already dying Ealing Studios but not an entirely successful one.

Check out my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com for more reviews of vintage Ealing Studios classics!

Movie number 48: The House of the Spaniard (Reginald Denham, 1936).

Based upon Arthur Behrend’s novel The House of the Spaniard is a hopelessly dated comedy thriller set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Peter Haddon hams it up as hapless David Grey, accidental witness to some dodgy goings on on Liverpool marshland who then gets mixed up in some nonsense about Spanish revolutionists. The confusing plot is peppered with coincidences and contrivances and for much of the movie I was in the dark as to what was happening as the narrative jumped from one incredulous event to another.

The Marlene Dietrich-esq Brigette Horney is appealing as Margarita, Mr Grey’s love interest and the daughter of his employer and eventual kidnapper Pedro de Guzman (Allen Jeayes) and the movie is not wholly unentertaining; some enjoyment is to be found its frankly ludicrous situations and eventual denouncement. But to be honest the film has little else going for it.

Told in a jolly, lighthearted manner unbefitting of it somber real-life backdrop of civil unrest, The House of the Spaniard is a largely missable b-movie that leaves a slightly bad taste. Those with an interest in pre-war British cinema, or with a peculiar fetish for bad movies, may find it worth a watch.

Happy birthday Audrey Hepburn!

WINNIE THE POOH (Stephen J Anderson & Don Hall, 2011).

Disney’s 5th cinematic feature-length venture into the Hundred Acre Wood acts as a direct sequel to the compilation feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Wolfgang Reitherman & John Lounsbery, 1977). Roughly separated into three sequences, the bulk of the movie concerns the search for the mythical Backson, a fearful creature to rival Heffalumps and Woozles, who Pooh and pals mistakenly believe has kidnapped Christopher Robin after misreading the phrase ‘back soon’ on a note from Christopher to Pooh.

Thematically Winnie the Pooh covers much of the same ground as the straight-to-video sequel Pooh’s Grand Adventure (Karl Geurs, 1997). However, where that movie was dark and at times somewhat depressing, this one is an inventive, humorous and warm-hearted delight.

Animated in handcrafted 2D, the movie is visually pleasing throwback to the original Pooh featurettes (the 3 shorts comprise ‘The Many Adventures... movie). It is more faithful to Milne and to Walt Disney’s original vision of Pooh than any of the intervening features or TV adaptations.

While Sterling Holloway will never quite be replaced as the voice of Pooh, nor Paul Winchell as Tigger, Jim Cummings does a decent job of imitating both. Likewise, John Cleese is a welcome choice of narrator, although perhaps not quite possessing the warm yet authoritative tone of Sebastian Cabot. However, to criticise a fine vocal cast for not replacing the childhood memory of now deceased actors in one’s mind would be churlish; younger audience members will neither notice nor care.

The subtle ‘hums’ of Richard and Robert Sherman are missed, although Frozen songsmiths Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez’s more elaborate musical numbers are a satisfactory substitute.

At little under an hour before the end credits roll, the movie could stand being a mite longer. As it is, Winnie the Pooh is still a winning tribute to the Pooh movies of the past. A short and sweet old-school treat that should appeal to original Pooh fans as well as newcomers.

100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.

Movie number 51: The Hatton Garden Job aka One Last Heist (Ronnie Thompson, 2016). Proving that coming first doesn’t always make you a winner, The Hatton Garden Job, like last year’s King of Thieves (James Marsh, 2018), is based upon the true story of the Hatton Garden safe burglary of 2015. Arriving in cinemas a full 17 months before King of Thieves this bungled bank job of a movie is weaker than its competitor in every department.

While purportedly based on the actual crime, this version of events is largely fictionalised. The basic plot of a bunch of ageing criminals conniving to pull off one last job is the same, yet the involvement of the Hungarian Mafia and a corrupt ex-copper are entirely fabricated. This would perhaps be forgivable if the retelling had any entertainment value. How such an audacious real life story can be transformed into such a dull and insipid movie is anybody’s guess.

Matthew Goode, Larry Lamb, Phil Daniels and Joley Richardson prop up the otherwise less than stellar cast but are severely let down by stilted dialogue and lazy character development. The screenplay by Ray Bogdanovich and Dean Lines fails to draw upon the inherent humour of the situations while Ronnie Thompson’s bland direction is lacking style and imagination.

If you like geezer ladden crime movies that take themselves too seriously then maybe The Hatton Garden Job is for you. Otherwise you would be better off checking out the superior King of Thieves. #thehattongardenjob #onelastheist #ronniethompson #raybogdanovich #deanlines #matthewgoode #larrylamb #phildaniels #joleyrichardson #kingofthieves #hattongarden #london #britishfilm #britishcinema #everymovieiwatch2019