The Great Race (1965)

Why its here:
A chance to see Tony Curtis (who is fabulous here) and Natalie Wood (who we hadn't seen since she was a child in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir). This was supposed to be a fantastic epic comedy.

Specs:
Color. Nearly 3 hours.

Our family's rating on a scale of 1-10:
6.75

More about the film and our reaction to it:
It may be a great race, but its only a good movie.  The Great Race is hampered in part by the fact that we've seen this movie, twice, before. Perhaps wishing to ride the success of Around the World in 80 Days and Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, this film canvases much the same metaphoric and literal territory, in glorious technicolor and at over 3 hours in length.  Problem is, the others did it better. There was plenty of time for my mind to wander and I found myself getting bored - a rare occurrence indeed during our festival.

The performances are strong and the film generally very well-made and entertaining, but the plot lacked focus and well, just dragged on. What is it with these 60s epic films?! Lawrence of Arabia, Its a Mad ... World, My Fair Lady and now The Great Race have all clocked in at 3 hours + and included intermissions. We are ready for something short!

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Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Why its here:
Seriously? Of course I wanted to include an Elvis film. The only decision was which? Viva Las Vegas is generally regarded as one of his best and has the bonus that we got to see Ann Margrock, of Flintstones fame (that's Ann-Margret to the rest of you.)

Specs:
Short! Not even an hour and a half and color. We could not get a hold of this movie anywhere and were going to have to rent it from Amazon (yikes!), when luckily TCM happened to play the flick on a Sunday afternoon that fit right in to our plans. Worked out great.

Our family's rating on a scale of 1-10:
6.75

More abut the film and our reaction to it.
Personally, I feel a little sheepish giving this film a "7" since it is not a strong film, really. It's absurd and far-fetched, weak on plot and cheap-ish on effects, BUT, it is a very entertaining and enjoyable film. Its simply fun to watch and that makes up for all its shortfalls.  A movie like this is wonderful because it knows just what it is and doesn't try to be anything bigger.

I am not a huge Elvis fan, but I've always found it so cool that he was both a major performing artist and film actor. OK, maybe he wasn't a great actor, but he made 31 films! and that's nothing to sneeze at. Elvis is nothing if not entertaining and charming and Ann-Margret is the same. Together they carry this senseless film and make us root for them.

Now for a brief rundown on the silliness. Elvis plays a rock & roll race car driver who has come to Vegas to compete in the Grand Prix. He meets his rival driver in the first few moments, clashes with him, gets angry and insulted then proceeds to hang out with him genially for the rest of the film. He also meets Ann-Margaret when her car breaks down, but she gets away before he learns who she is and, assuming she's a show girl, he spends the whole night (along with his enemy) searching for her by going to all the clubs. He finds her the next day at the pool of the hotel he's staying at, teaching swimming lessons. She doesn't like him and pushes him in pool. This causes his big wad of cash, that he was going to use to buy his race car's motor, to float away, so he gets a job at the hotel. One of our favorite bits is their first date, where these two broke kids both have a day off from the hotel, so they go dancing at the university, then motorcycle riding, then fly around in a helicopter, then go waterskiing. Those things don't cost money, right?

She alternately hates him and loves him -- the hate seemingly connected to her fear that he will die in a car crash, yet still finds room in her heart to introduce him to her dad (William Demerest who is very charming here) who plays a pivotal role by the end in helping Elvis compete (in the race and with his daughter). Somewhere in the midst of all of this, Elvis and Ann-Margaret also compete head on in a talent competition (where they both win ridiculous prizes) and have the opportunity to perform some dozen or so song numbers. I lost count. Given that this has been out for about 50 years, I won't consider this as a spoiler if I tell you that at the end Elvis wins the race! and then the director decided the movie was over so cut to a scene of the leads getting married. And the film ends. Boom.

Its not great cinema; it's Elvis cinema. And you just have to go with it.

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My Fair Lady (1964)

Why it's here:
We'd already seen all the more family oriented big musicals from this era, so we branched out.

Specs:
almost 3 hours, color

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.75

More about the film and our reaction to it:
The movie is of course fantastic! But, it is not as well-suited to family viewing as, say, Mary Poppins or the Sound of Music. The ideas are more complex and there are no kids or youth-centered points of view. It is strong on the subtle brilliance of the underlying ideas, which makes it a tremendous film, but may not become your kids most beloved of musicals. Luckily there is plenty of humor and fantastic performances which mitigate against the tremendous length of the film.

We loved the first part, but I do think spirits were dragging by the end and we were all glad to see the credits roll.

Much is made of the backstory of the making of this film... for instance how Audrey Hepburn was chosen for the role rather than have Julie Andrews reprise her theatrical performance, ... of how Hepburn, though she trained heavily, was not allowed to sing her own songs, ... of how Cary Grant was offered the lead role and said "not only will I not do it, I will not even go to see the film if Rex Harrison is not cast," ... of how Harrison was trepidatious of Hepburn's acting chops but came to feel that she was the best co-star he'd ever had.  The film and its making are just so ... interesting for some reason. It seems the film has an iconic status almost outside of its value as cinema. I guess then to be culturally literate, you need to see the film :)

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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Why it's here:
Because we love comedy and, since this is the 60s, we were looking for anything to lighten the mood.

Specs:
Epic comedy - 3 hours long; color

Our family's average rating on a scale of 1-10:
8.0

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This is a funny, funny, funny, funny movie. Still. Yes, it's from 1963, but it is hilarious and an extremely well-made film that, though dated, holds up very well. In fact, it feels like you are actually watching the birth of modern comedy take place before you. This film is at the roots of Monty Python and Airplane! and much that came after.

If this gives you any indication of how much we liked the movie: the running time is 3 hours. We watched it twice this week.

The barrage of great icons of classic comedy in the film is nothing short of breathtaking and the humor ranges from silly, to irony, to absurd, to slapstick. But there's more -- The film also goes beyond the sidesplitting fun with a real plot and what seems like a true/honest purpose. I think this accounts for why the film still feels solid and relevant 50 years later.  It starts with a speeding car on a mountain road, and then several strangers who come upon the driver who lies dying after having crashed. The dying man discloses the location of a huge sum of money and a chase to find it is on -- complete with police secretly following. The film is simple - but simply well-made too.

So many scenes from this film have clearly inspired Hollywood movie making to this day, and I found myself constantly thinking: "I've seen that before". From the car chases, the money raining down from on high, the slow fleeing on a bicycle, the deadpan control tower guy trying to talk hapless accidental pilots down, the police operations-center scenes, the hardened cop on the line between good and bad, the guys all in traction at the end, and on and on and on this film includes many moments that have become quintessential in comedy.

All in all this has to be one of our most loved films of the festival so far and we highly recommend it for families!

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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962)

Why it's here: 
Highly recommended by a friend who brought his son and some snacks over to watch with us! We certainly can't go wrong with that.

Specs: 
2 hours; black and white

Our rating on a scale of 1 - 10: 
8.13

More about the film and our reaction to it:
The film did not disappoint. Remarkable for the onscreen pairing of James Stewart and John Wayne whose talents suit each other remarkably well, this film is yet another of John Ford's successful Westerns and probably one of the best Westerns we've seen. It kept reminding me of the other wonderfully different Westerns in our festival: Stagecoach and High Noon. All three share a similar calm, intellectual story - rather than a high energy "shoot em up" approach.

The film may be best suited for tweens and up -- not because it is gory or violent -- but because it might seem dull or slow for those who don't get in to the underlying personal and political tensions. There are a few graphic and unsettling moments including, I guess I don't give anything away here that the title hasn't already suggested -- a man shot in a gun battle. The interesting piece is not so much that this man was shot but by whom and why and we don't really learn that until we put it all together at the end.

We would recommend the film highly.


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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Why it's here:
Well, I'd, of course, heard of the film. But never seen it. In researching for the festival, this title came up again and again as one of the best films of all time. When I learned that Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) was featured in the movie, I couldn't resist.  (The boys found him entirely recognizable by his voice, if not so much by his look, as this was 15 years prior to Star Wars.)

Specs:
Nearly 4 hours! Shot gorgeously in color.

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1 - 10:
8.13

More about the film and our reaction to it:
What an incredible, remarkable, film. Wow. Just wow. We can't say we loved it. We loved LOVED the first half. Its hard to imagine better cinema ever than the first half of the movie.  For us, the second half felt long and less compelling. More of the psychological and political depth and drama emerges in ernest in the second half making it less suitable for children -- unless they are the more mature type, readily engaged with that type of material.  There are several unsettling scenes of violence - mostly implied or not graphically shown. Other disturbing ideas will go over younger kids heads.

Our main character, Lawrence, as well as many (most) of the others -- and, come to think of it, the civilizations they represent -- is ambiguous: siting neither on the moral right or hated wrong, but somewhere in between. Although Lawrence's character flaws were foreshadowed in the beginning of the film, it was easy to forget them as we joined him on his amazing journey into the Arab world.  The film allows you to just plunge viscerally into that world. The cinematography is so gorgeous that "visceral" is the only word for it. You truly experience this land on an unimaginable level. My husband and I agreed that we have never seen such a beautifully shot film, ever. It was stunning.

We watched over two, well, really three nights. The first we were spellbound and in love with this film. We stopped just before intermission. The second night just didn't click for us in the same way. We put the film on and watched for another hour or so then found we were all just drifting and losing interest. So we put off the last half hour until the following night. Did I mention this film runs well over 3 1/2 hours long? Still, I wouldn't let that discourage anyone from seeing it who is interested. The film is glorious.

My hesitancy to recommend it for families lies in the fact that I don't think most modern kids would get into it the way mine did. If your kids are good with more serious themes in film and with disturbing and ambiguous truths, then go for it.  But its probably best to ease into classic film first before taking on this one.

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The Absentminded Professor (1961)

Why its here:
For some simple light-hearted fun.

Specs:
1 1/2 hours, black and white

Our family's rating on a scale of 1-10:
7.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This may not be a major moment in cinematic history, but its good. Really enjoyable and simple fun. We'd definitely recommend for family viewing.

This is the story of flubber. And some bad guys. And a good (absentminded) guy who is also a scientist, and of course his shaggy dog... whoops, that's a different movie. Only there is a dog here too. And he is in fact shaggy. But most of all, it's the story of a flying Model-T Ford and really, that's enough.  Don't expect anything more. ... And set your high modern production standards down at the door as you pick up your suspension of disbelief and just sit back and enjoy this fun movie.

As a side note, it was great to see Nancy Olson again, who we'd enjoyed so much in Sunset Blvd., in a very different kind of film.

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Inherit the Wind (1960)

Why it's here:
The double pull of a courtroom drama and an education-related theme. Had to pick it.

Specs:
2 hours

Our family's average rating on a scale of 1-10:
6.67

More about the film and our reaction to it:
We knew the famed Scopes "monkey" trial was the inspiration for the film, but we learned later that the film is actually a very accurate portrayal of the real-life events: the clash of famous lawyers, the climatic "placing the prosecuting attorney on the stand as the defense witness" move, the testimony from the bible, the odd twist of verdict and many other features of the film that screamed like cinematic licence to us, were actually real.

One of the pieces of the film that was so frustrating to me as a lawyer is that legal issues never seemed to come out - it all just felt like grandstanding and bluster. A good courtroom drama is hard to pull off. It has to be dramatic; but it should also be rooted in well-reasoned legal issues that carry a certain truth to them. This one didn't cut muster. The idea of a court trial dealing with a teacher who stands up and teaches according to his principals is such a good one for kids, but, truly, we wouldn't recommend this film broadly for families, simply because it does feel very dated and overblown.

We all agreed though that Spencer Tracy is a fabulous actor and we were glad to have another chance to see him in a courtroom drama. Unfortunately though, the last one was Adam's Rib (1949) and I can't say we liked that film any better.

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