Reviews of movies directed or written by John Huston.
Grade: B-
Synopsis: A doctor (Edward G. Robinson) joins a gang of criminals in order to study the physiological effects of crime and tangles with a hood (Humphrey Bogart) over a woman (Claire Trevor).
Despite its 70’s-porn sounding title, The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a pretty good movie. The script by John Huston and John Wexley is clever and crackles with great dialog, the direction is tight, and the performances are all top-notch. MORE »
Grade: C
Synopsis: Based on the true story of Alvin York (Gary Cooper), a hillbilly sharpshooter reluctant to fight in World War I because of his religion, who became the most decorated soldier in US history.
Sergeant York is a very well written and well acted film from director Howard Hawks with one glaring problem: a forty-year-old Gary Cooper. Yes, Cooper won an Oscar for his performance, but he’s still at least a decade too old for the part. MORE »
Grade: C-
Synopsis: A young civil war soldier (Audie Murphy) fights shame after fleeing during his first battle.
The Red Badge of Courage is something of a mess. After wresting control of the film from director John Huston, studio bosses at MGM edited out over twenty minutes of footage, discarding whole scenes in the process, and added some horrible voice-over narration by James Whitmore. The result is a frustrating film that only hints at the greatness that might have been. MORE »
Grade: C+
Synopsis: The captain of a whaling ship (Gregory Peck) obsessively hunts the whale that maimed him.
Moby Dick is an exceptionally well-produced adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic novel. A labor of love for co-writer/director John Huston, who shopped it around for years before Warner Bros. finally agreed to finance it, provided Huston could land a big name to star. Enter Gregory Peck, without whom the film couldn’t be made, but who ultimately proved to be its weakest link. MORE »
Grade: C+
Synopsis: A fictionalized biography of stunted artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (José Ferrer).
Moulin Rouge is an engaging bio-drama from director John Huston.
Huston does a fabulous job recreating Toulouse-Lautrec’s late 19th century Paris, a vibrant cauldron of art and life, full of inspiration and frustration. This is Paris, perhaps not how it was, but rather, how it was through Toulouse-Lautrec’s eyes, and the Oscar winning art direction and costume design bring it to life. From the recreation of the titular nightclub, to the city’s carriage laden streets, Moulin Rouge is a feast for the eyes. MORE »
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