How the West Was Won (1962).

The Scoop:
This is a big story told on a big canvas.

The tale of America's westward expansion is told through three generations of a single family, with plenty of exciting action, gorgeous photography and even a history lesson to boot. There are stars galore to suit the larger-than-life subject matter -- James Stewart, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Debbie Reynolds, Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, Robert Preston and Walter Brennan, just to name a few.

Filmed in Cinerama -- the wide screen megaformat that was a precursor to the modern IMAX format -- the cinematography still manages to dazzle even on the small screen at home; but it's the type of movie that should only be seen in letterbox, or not at all. The Cinerama process does wonders for the wide-open vistas of the West, and directors Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall and Richard Thorpe use that to full advantage. Cinerama's one drawback is the way it minimizes intimacy and human scale, but that hardly matters here. The crew of directors have found ingenious ways to work around it -- every frame is permeated with a sense of proud heroism that never grows preachy.

It's a corny sort of Americana, but it's one that's executed well. However if the story drags too much for you, you can just lose yourself in the fabulous visuals. A true American movie.

Best Bit:
The white-knuckle river rapids scene.

Side Note:
The uncredited narrator is Spencer Tracy.

Companion Viewing:
Something else equally epic from the same period -- say, "Ben Hur" (1959) or "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1962).

Links:
IMDb.
Fan site.
Wikipedia explains the Cinerama process.

Take a Look:
The trailer. Check out the cast of gazillions:


The train robbery:


Remember when movies had overtures and intermissions? Those were the days...

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

The Scoop:
This has to be a one-of-a-kind film -- the world's only epic comedy. At a time when American cinema was overflowing with lavish historical and biblical epics (complete with overtures, intermissions, exit music, casts of thousands -- and gargantuan running times), it shouldn't be too surprising that someone tried to use the formula on a slapstick comedy. And it shouldn't be too surprising that the trend never really caught on.

The story concerns an ever-widening circle of strangers in a race to find a fortune "buried under a big W." But this paper-thin plot is really just an excuse to string together a seemingly endless array of kitschy sight gags and pratfalls. The film is filled with just about every familiar face producer/director Stanley Kramer could lay his hands on. While some of them are a treat (specifically Spencer Tracy and Buster Keaton), most of them just get lost in the shuffle. Among the parade of stars are Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Edie Adams, Peter Falk, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Joe E. Brown, Jim Backus, Don Knotts, the Three Stooges, Jimmy Durante.... Need I go on?

Although there are some good gags, they get absolutely deadening after being pounded into the viewer's skull for more than three hours straight -- not counting, of course, the obligatory intermission. (The director's cut, which no longer survives, was apparently even longer.) And, frankly, just a mere five minutes of Ethel Merman is enough to make a sane man kill. Even the title is a mouthful when used in casual conversation. In the end, it's a whole lot of manic energy expended on a whole lot of nothing.

Best Bit:
I'm not sure there is a best bit, but if you're looking for something definitive, it probably would have to be some form of scream. There's a lot of screaming and yelling in this movie, mostly by Ethel Merman.

Side Note:
The film was the first to be shot in the "single camera" Cinerama format. (Previously, three cameras were needed to shoot Cinerama films.) Its premiere opened the landmark Cinerama Dome theater in Hollywood, which is still in operation today.

Companion Viewing:
"1941" (1979).

Links:
IMDb.
DVD Savant.
Retroland.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


This clips comes from the midpoint of the movie, where we get to check in with what wacky predicaments everyone's gotten themselves into!


Everybody get on board the fire engine!


Putting it in Spanish doesn't make it any more entertaining:

The Ten Commandments (1923).

The Scoop:
Cecil B. DeMille's first version of his classic film "The Ten Commandments" contains many similarities to the later, more popular movie, while also containing many of the conventions of the silent era. The story is told in two parts -- an extended prologue telling the Biblical story of Moses, and a morality tale set in modern times.

The prologue, which was the only part remade by DeMille, is the best, containing many classic moments. It's these parts that work best for modern viewers, since they are also the parts DeMille later reused in the remake with little alteration. At its heart is the thrilling chase scene between the Israelis led by Moses (Theodore Roberts) and the army commanded by Pharoah Ramses (Charles de Rochefort) that culminates in the parting of the Red Sea.

After setting the mood with the history of how the Ten Commandments came to be, DeMille jumps us ahead to early 20th century America to see the power of the commandments in action. This modern story -- concerning a long suffering mother (Edythe Chapman), her good son (Richard Dix), sinful son (Rod La Roque) and the woman the two men love (Leatrice Joy) -- has not aged well. There's very little drama here, just heavy-handed examples of sin and redemption. Completely preachy and overwrought. Unless you've got a strong curiosity about that sort of thing, just stick with the first half.

Best Bit:
The death of Pharoah's son.

Side Note:
The screenwriter Jeanie Macpherson started out as an actress and went on to become one of the pioneering female writers and directors in silent films, as well as one of the 36 founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Companion Viewing:
"The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "Intolerance" (1916).

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
Moses uses the power of early visual effects to part the Red Sea:

Intolerance (1916).

The Scoop:
It's been a non-stop B-movie cheesefest here the past couple weeks, so let's take a break from that and get back to the classics.

One of the landmarks of cinema, and D.W. Griffith's second masterpiece, "Intolerance" was made in response to the public outcry over the rampant racism in his previous film, "The Birth of a Nation." In this film, Griffith's artistic ambition tackles the huge subject of religious and social intolerance throughout history, with interwoven stories set in four different eras -- ancient Babylon (in which in an innocent girl gets caught up in a rivalry that destroys the civilization), biblical Jerusalem (featuring scenes from the life of Jesus Christ), 15th century France (in which a young couple's love is torn apart by the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre) and modern America (in which a young couple's love is tested by turn-of-the-century labor unrest).

The American and Babylonian stories take center stage in lavish style -- Griffith's work here pretty much created the term "a cast of thousands." At the time, and for many years afterwards, it was the longest (at anywhere from 160 to 200 minutes, depending on which print you see) and most expensive (with a budget of nearly $400,000) movie ever made. It was also a hit with the critics and stands up today much better than "The Birth of a Nation." Griffith's ornate visual style relied on intertitles much less than his contemporaries, and many of the Babylon sequences have a sensuality (even some surreptitious nudity) that would not seem out of place in the music videos of today.

Among the wild extravagances of the production was the full-size palace set for the Babylonian segments. It was constructed in the middle of Hollywood and remained standing for several years afterward. The distinctive set design has been incorporated into the design of the Kodak Theatre, the permanent home of the Academy Awards.

The less cinema-savvy viewers at that time, though, had a much harder time with Griffith's groundbreaking style. The four tales are intercut at a deliberate pace that accelerates to the parallel chase scenes at the end. To an audience just getting used to basic linear storytelling, this was a real eye-opener. It was spoofed and parodied in a number of places, most notably by Buster Keaton in "The Three Ages" (1923).

Best (and Most Wildly Inappropriate) Intertitle:
"When women cease to attract men, they often turn to reform as a second option." (Ouch!)

Side Note:
Griffith's cowriters were a pair of newcomers to moviemaking -- Tod Browning, best known for goingon to direct a series of moody horror films, including "Dracula" (1931) and "Freaks" (1932); and Anita Loos, who was one of the pioneering women in Hollywood and whose later writing credits include "The Women" (1939) and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953).

Companion Viewing:
"The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and "The Ten Commandments" (1923).

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
For a sample, here's a fan edit (with new music and sound effects) of the seige of Babylon:

Or, if you've got an afternoon to kill, you can see the entire film at MovieFlix.