Trafic (1971) tati.

Trafic is a shorter and much more conventional Tati film than Playtime. Here, Tati, his sancho panza, and a pushy American PR girl, drive their new Camper Car from Paris to the Automobile Show in Amsterdam. Needless to say, everything goes wrong. Like other Tati films, the humor is subtle and low key. I think an American director would've taken the scenes and made them more madcap and absurd.

Funniest scene: A filling station, instead of giving out green stamps, gives out big plaster busts of famous personages!

Summary: Tati made this at age 64, and who is incredibly funny at 64? I'd place it 5th amongst Tati's films, I've seen after Mr. Hulot's Holday, Playtime, Jour de fête, and Mon Oncle. But its genial fun and quite charming.

Thou Shalt not Grow Old (2018)

About British Troops on the Western Front in WW I.  The Documentary uses vivid coloralization to literally breathe life into old stockage footage and make these soldiers come alive.  My only criticicism? The horrors of war is hit a little too hard.  One of the best of its kind. Rating ***** 

Playtime (1967)

 You really have to admire Playtime but also wonder what in the world Tati was thinking. How did he ever think this self-indulgent 2 hours almost silent movie could be a hit?  There are plenty of smiles and chuckles to be had, and much cleverness, but  no belly laughs.  And he shot entirely in medium-long and long shots; no closeups, no reaction shots, no over the shoulder.  I can't imagine Joe Sixpack sitting in a theater and enjoying it much.

Forturnately I was able to see it on DVD and was able to take breaks and come back.  And it does improve on a 2nd viewing. You not only pick up on jokes missed the first time, you understand there's a story in all these seemingly unconnected scenes.  Summary I like the movie and plan to see it again, but I still wish that Tati had tried to be funnier and less clever and subtle.  Rating ***

Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

First, don't make the mistake I did.  I saw Pocketful of Miracles after the original Lady for a Day. You'll enjoy Pocketful much more, if you reverse the order. 

That out of the way,  this isn't a bad movie.  But its not particularly good either.  Bette Davis, Glenn Ford and Hope Lange are miscast - but adequate, Peter Falk is always a delight, and you have a ton of great supporting characters. But it drags on too long (137 minutes!) and the wide-screen technicolor further drains any life from the proceedings.  Sidenote: Wilder was smart to film "Some like it Hot" and "The Apartment"  in B&W. 

One feels sorry for Capra.  All the people he wanted to cast turned it down, (like Sinatra and Helen Hayes) so he was forced to make do. Glenn Ford did an excellent job playing a gangster in Mr. Soft Touch but it was different kind of role from Dave the Dude.  In Pocketful he's on the dull side. Bette Davis, whatever her greatness, was NEVER sweet and lovable. And while Hope Lange is lovable ,  she's just wrong for her part. 

Lady for a Day vs. Pocketful of Miracles 

Capra made Lady for a Day at the height of the Depression only a few years after Damon Runyon had written the original story. Dispite being a fairy-tale in many respects, there's a realness and contemporary energy to it.  The cast fit their roles, and the movies zips along without a dull moment.  Here, in Pocketful we have a technicolor period piece full of stars.  Made in 1961, the class issues seem irrelevant, and the movie just plods along.  Its 41 minutes longer than Lady for a Day despite having thes same plot!

Least Favorite Character Actors

 Excluded from the list are actors who went on to become leading men and leading ladies. Also, I've combinted actresses and actors in one list.  So here we go:

1. Earl Holiman
2. Jack Albertson
3. Martin Balsam (The Blandest of the Bland)
4. Red Buttons 
5. Ed Asner
6. Jane Darwell 
7. Hugh Griffith
8. Oscar Levant
9. Arthur McConnell 
10. Burgess Meredith (Good as the Penguin)
11. Ann Revere
12. Peter Ustinov (Good in Spartacus)
13. Robert Vaughn
14. Whoppi Goldberg
15. Shelly Winters (Tolerable in Posediean Adventure)

Lady for a Day (1933)

 Capra at his corniest. Heartwarming tale of homeless"Apple Annie" who poses as a member of high society when her daughter and fiancee come to visit.  Quite deservedly, 74 y/o May Robson recieved an Academy Award nomination.  She's a perfect fit for Apple Annie as are  Guy Gibbee (Pool Hustler Harry) and Warren William (Dave the Dude).  It seems that Marie Dressler and WC Fields both turned down roles.  Summary:   An old fashioned, improbable, fun movie, with an excellent lead perfromance, and touches of charm and humor. Rating ***

Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

 Even though I loved Roald Dahl's  book as a kid,  I never saw the movie till now. I was too young for the original movie release and too old when it came out on V/C tape. Anyway, I didn't miss anything.  Gene Wilder is completely miscast** as "Willie wonka".  Even odder, its a musical and Wilder can't sing and the songs are mediocre.  To compound the damage the movie looks cheap, changes the story for no reason, and casts Jack Albertson (of all people) in a signficant role.  And I hate Jack Albertson. 

I think making it a live action film as a opposed to a Disney Animation was a big error.  Evidently, whoever bought the movie rights didn't think it would be a boxoffice smash and budgeted only $3 Million. And they were right to be skeptical since it only brought in $4 million.  However, it now has a  7.8 IMBD rating!

Summary:  As proven by  the Pre-1970, Disney films,  you can make a film that pleases both the young and the "young at heart".  But this old, aged "kid" hated this movie.  I doubt i would've liked it at age 10.  Were Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson *really* box office insurance in 1971?  They must have been cast for other reasons. And those songs!  A massive drop from the Jungle Book.  While Dahl wasn't English, you have to wonder if an English production might have done a better job.  Rating *

** = what makes the casting of Wilder even more weird, is that Wonka in the book is an old man. which means ANYONE could have been cast.  What about Robert Preston? Or Rex harrison? Or Spike Mulligan? Or Fred Astaire/Gene Kelly? Or Cary Grant?