Reviews of movies with William Holden.
Monday, August 11th 2008
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A hack screenwriter (William Holden) daydreams with his secretary (Audrey Hepburn) in Paris while working on an overdue script.
There are two ways of looking at Paris – When It Sizzles. On the one hand, you could say the film is an ambitious satire of the Hollywood process and its homogenizing, derivative, nature, or, on the other hand, you could say the film is the disastrous result of said process. Either way, it really doesn’t work.
Despite the tremendous screen presence of stars William Holden and Audrey Hepburn, the film feels empty, lacking either the sharp bite of a really good satire, or the emotional resonance of a solid melodrama. Instead, we’re left with a series of disjointed sequences that feel like something we’re supposed to enjoy, as if the visual manifestation of several hack scenarios should be entertaining. MORE »
Posted at 6:47 PM in Movie Reviews and William Holden.
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Tuesday, July 22nd 2008
Grade: B-
Synopsis: In a German prison camp, Allied prisoners suspect a cynical American Sergeant (William Holden) of working for the enemy.
Stalag 17 is a somewhat uneven mix of comedy and drama that hits more often then it misses.
William Holden is terrific in his Oscar winning role as a cynical soldier who wheels and deals his way into as comfortable a life as possible in the prison camp. His part makes the movie worthwhile as it manages to compensate for some of the stilted humor.
Perhaps it’s due to Wilder working with Edwin Blum on the script rather than I.A.L. Diamond, with whom Wilder would later make his best films, or perhaps the humor is just dated, but either way, many of the overdone antics of the prisoners, particularly Robert Strauss, fall flat. Strauss, of course, received an Oscar nomination for his performance. MORE »
Posted at 4:12 PM in Movie Reviews, Billy Wilder and William Holden.
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Wednesday, May 21st 2008
Grade: A-
Synopsis: Television executives (Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway) exploit a mentally unstable anchorman (Peter Finch) over the objections of a seasoned newsman (William Holden).
Network is a biting satire of the television industry that still works over 30 years later. That’s as much a credit to the film as a condemnation of the industry on which it’s based.
Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar winning script is sharp and entertaining. Granted, the romance between Faye Dunaway and William Holden seems a bit forced, but that’s easy to overlook considering the tremendous presence both bring the screen. Further, their scenes together serve as a more intimate reflection of the same rationalization the network itself was using to justify its own ends, and that’s the genius of Chayefsky’s screenplay: it’s really telling the same story two different ways, and the result is a more subtle way of making a rather insidious point about our willingness to use and exploit others for our own gain. MORE »
Posted at 12:51 PM in Movie Reviews and William Holden.
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Monday, May 12th 2008
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A stage director (William Holden) hires of a one-time star (Bing Crosby) with a drinking problem only to butt heads with his wife (Grace Kelly).
The Country Girl is a prime example of what a daytime soap would look like with a bigger budget and quality performers.
Littered with orchestra swells and stilted dialog, the script by director George Seaton is full of overwrought melodrama, so much so that the film’s good lines, such as William Holden’s “they all start out as Juliets but end up as Lady MacBeths,” get lost. Of course, Seaton won an Oscar for his script. MORE »
Posted at 4:04 PM in Movie Reviews and William Holden.
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Thursday, May 8th 2008
Grade: B+
Synopsis: A businessman (Humphrey Bogart) becomes alarmed when his younger brother’s (William Holden) romance with the chauffeur’s daughter (Audrey Hepburn) threatens a multi-million dollar deal.
Sabrina is an easy romantic comedy that works thanks to a great cast and director Billy Wilder’s uncanny ability to balance both comedy and drama.
Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden all work well together, with chemistry to spare, be it the attraction between Hepburn and Holden, the sibling rivalry between Holden and Bogart, or even the tender romance between Hepburn and Bogart, it all works. This is all the more impressive considering Bogart and Holden reportedly didn’t get along, and that Bogart had wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall for Hepburn’s role. Still, whatever tension existed off-set, none of it’s present onscreen. MORE »
Posted at 1:31 PM in Movie Reviews, Billy Wilder, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden.
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