tfiddler

I see literally hundreds of films from the 30's and I'm sorry. This film does not have what I call the "Ring of Truth". The music jumps from recreations of period music to the real music. I also thought it odd to film in England and use so many, at least what I thought were, American Actors trying to do English Accents. I was not impressed. However, I must tell you, I'm a projectionist in a theatre, and I'm running the last half right now and this is my second day and I am trying to give it a chance. It's very hard to hear all the Dialogue as a Projectionist and so I will rent it some day on DVD and look at it with my wife who is 74 in our living room theatre and see what she thinks.

You see Bing, Red, Ann, and so forth, and you might skip this, but if you ignore the "fading star" thing and just enjoy it as a little play put on by some true pros, you'll enjoy this. It has one of the best chase scenes ever, with Indians and Helicopter shots of the racing horses and stage, it has a great performance by Bob Cummings and Kennan Wynn, and I actually felt the hair coming up on the back of my neck during the storm on the cliff, even though I knew it was just a process shot against a painting. It's not Shakespeare, but hey, it's a fun 1960's good ole American film just as TV production values and over lit sound stages were taking over film making and as the last reviewer said, just before the Anti Hero revolution.

The previous reviewer is decidedly looking for a religious message, and kind of missing the point of the whole film. He even mentions the point of the whole film, but doesn't realize it. See it for yourself and decide. It's an old move and may be slightly dated in attitudes I'm sure, but it's a product of it's time and I think HG was alive when this film was made. I wonder what he thought of it. It's one of my favorite movies and should be seen on a bigger screen. Great special effects for it's time, and clever I thought. And… be careful what you wish for. That's what the film is about. It fits into an Idea I had of films that are "Almost SiFi," but not. I include this film, Orlando, Perfume, and the Truman Show in that category.