KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (Dir: Robert Hamer, 1949).

KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (Dir: Robert Hamer, 1949).

1949 is the year that cemented the Ealing Studios’ close association with comedy. This year saw the release of three bona fide classics: Passport to Pimlico (Henry Cornelius), Whisky Galore (Alexander Mackendrick) and lastly Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Dennis Price stars as Louis Mazzini, only son of a disinherited heir to the aristocratic D’Ascoyn family, dispossessed for marrying an Italian singer deemed below her status. On his mother’s death he vows to take revenge on the family and sets out to murder the eight D’Ascoyns who stand between him and dukedom.


Price delivers a career best performance as Mazzini, cool and callous, yet charming enough to elicit audience sympathy, as he dispenses with the various D'Ascoyns. Excellent support comes in the form of Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood as rival love interests and an astonishing performance by Alec Guinness as the eight D'Ascoyns on Mazzini's hit list. The talented Robert Hamer directs with a light touch which never sees the movie descend into bad taste of farce.


The astute screenplay by Hamer and John Deighton, from a Roy Horniman novel, is both darkly cynical and witty and 70 years after release it remains, arguably, the blackest of black comedy scripts to reach British cinema screens.


In this respect it is unique among the Ealing comedies. Certainly it conveys the social commentary of its stable mates but lacking the gentle morals of say Passport to Pimlico or The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, 1951) and their reflection on post-war mores. Rather, its period setting allows for a biting critique of an outdated class system and the notion of inherited privilege.


While initially dismissed by some critics as too dark, Kind Hearts and Coronets is now widely considered the greatest of the Ealing comedies. It is difficult to think of any other movie so simultaneously dark yet delicate. Expertly performed and beautifully told; I would recommend this masterpiece of a movie to those with even the slightest interest in the cinema.

Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read an unedited version of this review and reviews of other Ealing Studios classics! Link below.

Movie number 83: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (Dir: Terence Young, 1963).

Sean Connery returns as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in this second movie in the series, From Russia with Love. Produced, once again, by ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman’s Eon Productions.

Here some double agent dupery sees Bond smuggling a Soviet Lektor decrypting device from East to West via the Orient Express. Pulling the strings are terrorist organisation SPECTRE, seeking to avenge the death of an agent who Bond bumped off previously.

Dr No director Terence Young returns to deliver another tight, action packed yet well paced thriller. I will admit the misogynistic tone of From Russia with Love leaves a bad taste. The sight of Bond slapping a woman about, even if she is a Russian agent, fills me with unease. That aspect aside, the movie ranks as one of the series’ best.

Many latter staples of the series are introduced here. SPECTRE head honcho Blofeld makes his first appearance, as does gadget man Q, a role Desmond Llewelyn would be associated with until his death in 1999. From Russia with Love also introduced the pre-title sequence and Lionel Bart provided the first Bond theme. Heard as an instrumental against the nudie ladies silhouette titles (another first - although here she is a belly dancer, nudieness would follow in later movies), Matt Monro’s beautiful vocal version is heard first over a transistor radio and later in the end credits.

Connery is fantastic; equal parts flirty and fighty, cool yet sophisticated. A quality supporting cast sees regulars Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell return as M and Miss Moneypenny respectively; an amiable Pedro Armendáriz as Bond’s Istanbul M16 ally; Robert Shaw makes an impressive baddie and Daniela Bianchi gets to look lovely in a series of nighties as ambiguous Bond girl Tatiana. Best of all is the fabulous Lotte Lenya as SPECTRE agent and possessor of lethal footwear Rosa Klebb.

In my opinion the early Bond movies were never bettered. From Russia with Love, in particular, holds up as one of the series’ best and has stood the test of time as an exciting action adventure in its own right.

If you enjoyed this review check out my previous review of Dr No. A longer, more in-depth version of this review appears on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

James Bond will return in my review of Goldfinger...

THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN (Dir: Jeremy Kagan, 1985).

Dating from an era when Walt Disney Pictures were pursuing edgier family entertainment, The Journey of Natty Gann is a road movie drama set during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In her movie debut Meredith Salenger stars as the titular Natty. Separated from her father (Ray Wise), she travels the length of Chicago to Washington to find him, accompanied by an unusual travelling companion in the shape of a wolf. She also strikes up a friendship cum chaste romance with a young drifter (John Cusack).


Director Jeremy Kagan delivers a thoughtful, intelligent movie that’s pulls no punches in its believable and affecting account of the hardships caused by poverty and mass unemployment. It also touches, albeit lightly, on subjects such as union activism and police brutality.

The movie treats it subject matter seriously, yet the tone is never too sombre and its uplifting moments offset the gentle melancholic mood which runs through it. Certainly, it is sentimental but it is never sticky and the sentimentality never seems false, while its female lead gives it a feminist slant not usually found in family films of the era.

While the performances are uniformly excellent, the standout is undoubtedly Salenger. Age just 14 during filming, her performance is both moving and charismatic. How she did not become a massive star is anybody’s guess. John Cusack also impresses in an early role as Natty's drifter friend Harry. It is beautifully photographed by cinematographer Dick Bush, capturing the crisp Canadian wilderness (standing in for the US) and the grimy back alleys with a cinematic grace rare in 80s Hollywood.

Although The Journey of Natty Gann won admiration from critics it was not, initially, a hit with audiences. It would eventually find a more appreciative audience on the burgeoning home video market. Still, the movie seems vastly underrated today. It is among the Disney Studios’ best live action releases and one of the most artful major Hollywood releases of the 1980s.

Check out my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com for a longer, more in-depth version of this review.

BLACK ARROW (Dir: John Hough, 1985).

Made for The Disney Channel, Black Arrow is a swashbuckling adventure based upon the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Set during the War of the Roses, corrupt Yorkist landowner Sir Daniel (Oliver Reed) is robbed by black clad vigilante Black Arrow (Stephan Chase). Seeking revenge, he sends his young nephew Richard (Benedict Taylor) on his trail. Sir Daniel is set to acquire more land with his marriage to the reluctant Lancastrian Lady Joanna (Georgia Slowe). Joanna does a runner, forms an alliance with Richard and together they determine to avenge Sir Daniel's wrongdoings.

Disney's third adaptation of a Stevenson novel, following Treasure Island (Byron Haskin, 1950) and Kidnapped (Robert Stevenson, 1960), Black Arrow was what would now be labelled a Disney Channel Original Movie. Back in 1985, The Disney Channel had a remit to provide family entertainment, not just sitcoms for tweenagers. Its new content, like that of the Disney Studio’s past was designed to appeal to a broader demographic than that of the Channel today. While Black Arrow would seem out of place on today’s Disney Channel, it is exactly the kind of movie of which company founder Walt Disney would have approved.

Having previously worked for Disney on the excellent Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), the talented John Hough was engaged to direct. To Black Arrow, Hough brings a somewhat more cinematic vision than one would usually expect from a TV Movie. The quality production only belying its TV origins through the prevalent use of close ups and mid shots.

The impressive cast of acting heavyweights Oliver Reed, Fernando Rey and Donald Pleasence also lend the film an air of prestige.

The film is not entirely flawless. Admittedly, there are a few unlikely plot contrivances and one of two moments which stretch credibility. While Benedict Taylor cuts far too modern a figure; strolling around the 15th Century like the 5th member of EuroVision popsters Bucks Fizz!

Overall though, Black Arrow is pretty solid entertainment. Old fashioned it may be but it does make me yearn for a time when The Disney Channel catered to more than just tweenage audiences.

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

THE LITTLE MERMAID (Dir: Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989).

Based upon Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale, The Little Mermaid was Walt Disney Animation’s first fairytale adaptation in three decades. It was their biggest critical and commercial success in years and is credited with starting a renaissance in Disney feature animation.

As I am sure you know, The Little Mermaid is the story of Ariel, the teenage mermaid who trades her voice for a man. Not the most feminist of plots but I don’t think it raised eyebrows back in 1989. Be thankful we are more enlightened now and don’t let it spoil your entertainment. Because The Little Mermaid is very entertaining.

The most cinematic Disney animation to date, thanks to inventive use of ‘camera’ angles; directors Ron Clements and John Musker and the talented Disney artists created a movie which felt simultaneously contemporary and classic Disney. Clichéd as it may sound, there is a sense of magic in The Little Mermaid that had been absent from Disney movies for some time.

As the voice of Ariel, Jodi Benson has the right amount of naive wonder and youthful determination while Pat Carroll’s lends her husky tones to Ursula, one of Disney’s most hissable villains. Comic relief comes in the form of Samuel E Wright as Ariel’s crustacean custodian Sebastian who brings a Caribbean vibe to musical numbers Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl.

Howard Ashman and Alen Menken’s excellent musical score is, arguably, what elevates The Little Mermaid from a good movie to a great one and in the modern Disney era has only ever been matched for greatness by Ashman and Menken’s Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 1991).

It is unfortunate that in subsequent years the Disney Company chose to market The Little Mermaid, and the ‘princess’ movies in general, almost exclusively to little girls. The appeal of great filmmaking should extend beyond age or gender and The Little Mermaid undoubtedly does; its status as a classic is entirely justified.

Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer more in-depth version of this review and reviews of other Disney classics! Link below.

THE BLACK CAULDRON (Dir: Ted Berman & Richard Rich, 1985).

Walt Disney Pictures' The Black Cauldron is an ambitious animated fantasy based upon Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, an acclaimed series of novels with a medieval setting.


With dreams of becoming a great warrior, assistant pig keeper Taran embarks on a quest to rescue his missing porcine ward, Hen Wen. The evil Horned King kidnaps the pig to use her oracular powers to secure a magical black cauldron in order to resurrect a skeletal army. Joining him are Eilonwy (Disney's forgotten princess), minstrel Fflewddur Fflam and the eternally hungry Gurgi, a furry creature of undisclosed origin. The gang must locate the cauldron and destroy it before it falls into the Horned King's hands.

The Black Cauldron had a famously troubled production and was subject to editing by a new studio regime who found it too dark for family audiences.


As might be expected from a film based on a five volume series of books, the movie suffers from an episodic, rambling narrative. The detrimental effect of editing is felt most in the sequence in which the Horned King unleashes his army of skeletal deathless warriors; it is all too brief and feels anti-climatic. The overall pacing of The Black Cauldron feels slightly off, languid at time.

However, those lucky enough to see this on original release in all its 70mm glory were treated to the most visually stunning of all Disney movies in years. The looser, sketchier art which chracterised Disney features of the 1960s and 70s is replaced by a fuller, bolder animation style, recalling the Disney product of earlier decades. The extensive use of the multi-plane camera and effects animation, particularly effective use of light and shadow, giving the film a rich texture and lavish quality.

The Black Cauldron is fresh, experimental and edgy while retaining an old-school Disney feel. Its arresting visuals alone make it worthy of far more recognition than it receives; an underrated movie from an overlooked period in Disney history and one that I believe is long overdue for reassessment.

Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of The Black Cauldron! Link below.