Reviews of movies directed by John Sturges.
Monday, May 12th 2008
Grade: B+
Synopsis: A group of Allied prisoners attempts to escape from a Luftwaffe P.O.W. camp during World War II.
The Great Escape is a grand adventure film highlighted by a stellar cast including Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, and James Coburn. Each of these men has enough charisma and presence to carry a movie on his own, but director John Sturges does a good job of keeping everyone in check as he manages the cast. Granted, his decision to have Coburn play an Australian is questionable, but it’s a minor quibble and if it’s an Australian Coburn versus no Coburn at all; you take the Australian. MORE »
Posted at 7:08 PM in Movie Reviews, John Sturges and Steve McQueen.
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Friday, January 18th 2008
Grade: D+
Synopsis: In World War II Burma, an American Army Captain (Frank Sinatra) leads a small band of natives determined to hold off the much larger Japanese force.
Never So Few is a frustratingly uneven film that should have been better.
The film starts out stumbling. Frank Sinatra looks ridiculous with a goatee and the dark jungle scenes feel stagy. The film waffles between action and melodrama, never really committing to either, until Steve McQueen makes his entrance. Things then pick up briefly as McQueen works his charm, but soon stumble once again as the film tries to work in an awkward love story. Finally, in the film’s final quarter, Never So Few finds its stride. The striking cinematography as Sinatra and company come across a battalion of slaughtered soldiers is excellent, and at long last gives some real sense of the jungle. Further, the script tightens up considerably, as the characters finally have something to do, but unfortunately, it’s too little too late. MORE »
Posted at 11:45 AM in Movie Reviews, Frank Sinatra, John Sturges and Steve McQueen.
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Tuesday, December 18th 2007
Grade: A-
Synopsis: A one-armed stranger (Spencer Tracy) gets off a train in a dusty town and starts asking questions.
Bad Day at Black Rock is a great blend of the western, mystery, and film noir genres executed by a top-notch cast.
Spencer Tracy is great as the lead. Physically smaller than either Rob Ryan or Lee Marvin, Tracy looks the underdog, yet his quiet presence and steel gaze betray hints of a much stronger man inside. His measured performance simultaneously wins over the audience and elevates the story’s tension.
Opposite Tracy, Robert Ryan does a great job as the mysterious town’s de-facto leader. He’s simultaneously charming and menacing, though never too much of either. MORE »
Posted at 3:09 PM in Movie Reviews and John Sturges.
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Friday, October 26th 2007
Grade: D
Synopsis: A government agent must recover stolen vials of a deadly virus from a madman determined to rule the world.
The Satan Bug is director John Sturges inexplicable follow-up to The Great Escape.
Gone are the wide open spaces that he utilized to such great effect in films like The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, and Escape From Fort Bravo, instead they’re replaced by stagy lab sets that date the film horribly.
Missing also, is a star-sudden ensemble cast in the vein of The Great Escape or The Magnificent Seven. Here, Sturges commands a stable of mostly B-movie veterans led by former TV star George Maharis. While they’re all surprisingly serviceable, no one is a real standout and the film suffers for it. MORE »
Posted at 8:05 PM in Movie Reviews and John Sturges.
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Thursday, October 11th 2007
Grade: B-
Synopsis: A southern belle (Eleanor Parker) distracts a hardened Union soldier (William Holden) guarding a group of Confederate prisoners.
Escape from Fort Bravo may take a while to get going, but once it’s off and running (literally) it really works.
The film’s first half, which deals with Eleanor Parker’s character’s gradual seduction of William Holden’s, is passable, if a little tedious. The Anscocolor photography and Holden’s charisma are about the only standouts.
Once the actual escape happens though, things really kick into gear. Director John Sturges shows a great knack handling the action, and the Death Valley locations help open the film up. Everything culminates in a tense, well-staged finale that’s littered with great dialog (love the line about artillery!). MORE »
Posted at 5:42 PM in Movie Reviews, John Sturges and William Holden.
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