DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS and the Unexpected MacGuffin

DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS (Blu-ray)

2024 / 83 min

FROM UNIVERSAL

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Leave it to one of the Coen Brothers (and his wife) to come up with the most unexpected MacGuffin I've ever seen, which I won’t even hint at. But when it’s revealed, chances are you’ll laugh, if for no other reason than Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke’s audacity. 

Even without Joel co-writing/co-directing, Drive-Away Dolls reflects the brothers’ quirky sensibilities, though even longtime, unsuspecting Coen fans might be initially blindsided. For one thing, the film is raunchy as hell, often hilariously so, though the humor occasionally feels a bit too calculated. Still, we kinda need a movie like this…a screwball comedy featuring two protagonists who happen to be lesbians. Their orientation is certainly part of the narrative, with a ton of jaw-droppingly frank dialogue and ample sex scenes (which are more comedic than erotic), but that isn’t what drives the plot. 

Drive-Away Dolls is a road movie with elements the Coens have visited before. Margaret Qualley & Geraldine Viswanathan play Jamie and Marian, two close friends who take a road trip to Tallahassee in a drive-away car. However, stashed in the trunk is a briefcase containing the aforementioned MacGuffin. The problem is that the car was supposed to be picked up by a couple of criminals to deliver the case to the same town. Those guys, Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J. Wilson), are ordered by their boss (Colman Domingo) to track the girls down and retrieve the case.

The movie's two clean gags.

Of the two protagonists, Jamie is more free-spirited and uninhibited (to say the least), bent on spending a good deal of this trip hitting lesbian bars while trying to get perpetually-uptight Marian to loosen up a little. During their episodic journey, we get to know both pretty well and their relationship is often amusing, ultimately endearing. Elsewhere, the segments with Arliss and Flint chasing down the girls - usually a step or two behind - are frequently hilarious, while Beanie Feldstein threatens to steal the movie as Jamie's disgruntled ex, Sukie (and also a cop).

I’ve avoided specifics because much of what makes Drive-Away Dolls fun is not knowing what’s going to happen next…or what’ll fly out of someone’s mouth, especially Jamie’s. Overall, it’s an entertaining film with excellent performances by the entire cast. Though never quite as clever as the Coens’ best comedies, there are enough oddball characters and off-the-wall moments to remind us who’s behind the camera. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - The Drive-Away Gang; Drive-Away Dolls: An Ethan and Tricia Project; Road Trip Essentials.

DVD & DIGITAL COPIES

THE TIN STAR: A Worthwhile Little Western

THE TIN STAR (Blu-ray)

1957 / 93 min

FROM ARROW VIDEO

Review by Mr. Paws

The Tin Star is one of the few westerns Anthony Mann directed during the 1950s that doesn’t star Jimmy Stewart. While no Winchester ‘73, it’s an entertaining film thanks to good overall performances and an engaging (if thematically familiar) story. 

Henry Fonda is Morgan Hickman, a wandering bounty hunter riding into town with the dead body of his latest quarry. He meets idealistic-but-inexperienced sheriff Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins), who got the job after the last one was killed. He doesn’t approve of Morgan’s methods, believing everyone should get a fair trial. However, his righteous resolve is frequently tested by Bart Bogardus (Neville Brand), a local bully who regularly challenges and intimidates him.

Bounty hunters aren’t held in high regard in this town, so when only hotel refuses to rent him a room, Morgan ends up staying with Nona (Betsy Palmer), a widowed dressmaker who lives on the edge of town and is also something of an outcast herself, raising a son she had with a Native-American. As he’s waiting to collect his bounty, Morgan becomes close with them, while Ben, despite his initial misgivings, realizes this stranger is more than he seems. In fact, he’s a former lawman. Somewhat reluctantly, Morgan agrees to teach Ben the ropes.

"Welcome, stranger. We have 12 cabins, 12 vacancies."

Later, when beloved town doctor Doc McCord (John McIntire) is murdered, the mayor demands Ben to form a posse to track down the killers. Ben wants to bring them in alive, while Bogardus and his bloodthirsty bunch plan on lynching the culprits. Despite the bounty placed on the killers, Morgan initially refuses to get involved and implores the inexperienced Ben to think twice about trying to catch them. However, when the boy follows the posse into the hills, Morgan is compelled to try and same them both.

Running a brisk 90 minutes, The Tin Star isn’t a particularly complex film, but it’s generally pretty enjoyable, with well-drawn characters and an interesting story that culminates in a satisfying climax. Fonda doesn’t really stretch himself here, but his indubitable earnestness is just what a character like Morgan needs for us to be invested. On a side note, it’s kind of amusing that two prominent cast members would someday be best-known for playing legendary psychos. Palmer is actually quite a dish in this one (and gets to keep her head).

Fairly light on action until the final act, The Tin Star benefits from a well-written screenplay (which was nominated for an Oscar) and typically confident direction by Mann, both of which compensate for the story’s overall predictability. While not as big or ambitious as some of the more iconic westerns of the genre, it's a worthwhile little western that looks great on this limited edition Blu-ray, which comes which a smattering of interesting bonus features.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

APPRECIATING A MASTER - A pretty thorough appreciation of the film by critic Neil Sinyard.

BEYOND THE SCORE - Elmer Bernstein’s son, Peter, talks about growing up with the legendary composer.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By historian Toby Roan.

TRAILER

IMAGE GALLERY

BOOKLET, MINI-POSTER, LOBBY CARD REPLICAS & REVERSIBLE COVER (not reviewed)

THE SCARFACE MOB is Big Screen TV

THE SCARFACE MOB (Blu-ray)

1959 / 102 min

FROM ARROW VIDEO

Review by Mr. Paws😺

The original Untouchables was a TV series that ran for five years during the late 50s-early 60s. It starred Robert Stack as real-life federal agent Eliot Ness, who famously took down Al Capone during the prohibition era. The show itself was mostly fanciful fiction, with only the two-part pilot episode being based on actual events.

That two-parter was later recut & released as a theatrical feature, The Scarface Mob, which was pretty violent for its time and boasts a striptease by bombshell Barbara Nichols that would never have made it past TV censors back in the day. It chronicles Ness and his small team of incorruptible cops (and one reformed ex-con) as they try to bust Capone’s illegal operation, one brewery at a time. 

Most of the narrative takes place while Capone (Neville Brand) is in jail, with right-hand man Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) running things while he’s gone. Once released, Capone raises the stakes, targeting Ness, his team and even his wife. But of course, Ness won’t be intimidated, even after his wife is assaulted and a trusted partner is murdered.

Extreme hall monitors.

Those who only know of The Untouchables from Brian De Palma’s 1987 classic might find this film a bit quaint, which doesn’t quite escape its episodic TV origins. That’s likely due to time and budget restraints, and why a lot of exposition is urgently provided by narrator Walter Winchell. Still, the story is more or less the same and fitfully entertaining, with some pretty good action and a stoic performance by Stack. As Capone, Brand is suitably menacing, though his Italian accent is terrible.

The Scarface Mob features solid, no-nonsense direction by Philip Karlson, whose extensive film noir background keeps things fast moving and visually interesting. As gun & gangster epics go, it’s no classic, but certainly an agreeable way to kill a few hours...and an enjoyable trip down memory lane for those who might recall the original TV show.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

GANG BUSTERS - video essay about director Philip Karlson

PHILLIP KEMP ON THE SCARFACE MOB - The film critic discusses Elliot Ness and his depiction in the media, including this film and up to 1987’s The Untouchables.

TRAILER

IMAGE GALLERIES - Posters, stills, lobby cards & publicity photos.

BOOKLET, MINI-POSTER, LOBBY CARD REPLICAS & REVERSIBLE COVER (not reviewed)

VIOLENT ROAD and the Small Wages of Fear

VIOLENT ROAD (1958)

Starring Brian Keith, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Merry Anders, Sean Garrison, Dick Foran, Arthur Batanides, Perry Lopez. Directed by Howard W. Koch. (85 min).

ESSAY BY D.M. ANDERSON💀

If you haven't seen Violent Road (which is quite likely), this essay contains a spoiler.

William Friedkin’s Sorcerer has been one of my favorite films since I was 13 and first caught it at the Southgate Quad as the bottom half of a double feature. Released at a time when the movie industry was increasingly focused on high concept blockbusters with wide audience appeal, the film was crushed under the wheels of the Star Wars juggernaut, coming and going nearly unnoticed by everyone except for the two studios (Universal and Paramount) who footed the bill for its bloated budget.  

With hindsight, it was easy to see why. Who the hell wanted to endure a grimy, depressing flick about criminals on a 10 mile-an-hour suicide mission for an $8000 payday when you could catch Luke Skywalker rescue a princess and defeat an empire? And trucks loaded with explosives certainly doesn’t sound as fun as the Bandit driving cases of Coors across the state line. Hell, the only reason I actually saw Sorcerer was because it was the only movie at the Southgate I hadn't yet watched. But I fell in love with every aspect of the film…the dark tone, stunning imagery, gritty aesthetic, nerve-jangling set-pieces, Tangerine Dream’s haunting score and a team of morally ambiguous characters played by a great international cast led by Roy Scheider. 

Best of all was the premise…four fugitives from various parts of the world who end up in a godforsaken poverty-ravaged South American village where escape means buying your way out. When an American oil platform explodes 200 miles away, the only way to kill the raging fire is to blow it out with dynamite. Unfortunately, the only cases available are so old and unstable that the slightest jolt will cause them to explode. Worse yet, the only way to get them there is to drive a couple of trucks through mountains, swamps and jungle. With nothing left to lose, these four desperate fugitives take the job.

Another meeting that could've been an email.

Sorcerer has been rediscovered and reassessed over the years, becoming something of a cult film. Though its initial failure exacerbated Friedkin’s career descent into mediocrity (from which he never truly recovered, in my opinion), it’s now widely considered one of his best. Today, there are cinephiles and critics worldwide who appreciate Sorcerer for the neglected masterpiece it really is. But I knew it all along.

What I didn’t know - for many years - was that my beloved Sorcerer was actually a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 French classic, The Wages of Fear. It’s an excellent film, similarly bleak with heaping helpings of cynicism thrown in. Still, it took some time for me to warm up to it and I still prefer Sorcerer’s aesthetic, tension and unsavory characters (perhaps because it’s the version I grew up on).

Another thing I didn’t know, until just recently, was that Sorcerer wasn’t even the first remake of The Wages of Fear. That honor actually goes to a little-seen film called Violent Road. 

Released in 1958 and directed by Howard W. Koch (probably best remembered for producing Airplane! and some Oscar broadcasts), Violent Road doesn’t officially acknowledge Clouzot’s film or Georges Arnaud’s original novel (just like Akira Kurosawa was never credited for inspiring The Magnificent Seven). However, it features the exact same premise and plot, though with less creative ambition and a lower budget. Based on the cast, perfunctory direction and conveniently commutable Southern California locations, it’s obvious Warner Brothers simply wanted a quick & dirty potboiler. 

There are few minor differences between this one and The Wages of Fear. Instead of two trucks and four guys transporting unstable nitroglycerin, six people are hired by Cyclone Rockets to drive three trucks carrying explosive & corrosive fuel components to a new factory. Barred from using the main highways, they’re forced to make the two day trek over treacherous desert mountain backroads.

"No one goes shirtless but me."

Leading the team is Mitch Barton (Brian Keith), an experienced career trucker who needs the work after running afoul of his former boss. His crew includes down-and-out war veteran Frank ‘Sarge’ Miller (Dick Foran), reckless young race car driver Ken Farley (Sean Garrison), chronic gambler Ben (Arthur Batanides), resourceful mechanic Manuelo (Perry Lopez) and Cyclone’s rocket fuel expert George Lawrence (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). As with The Wages of Fear, there’s a beautiful woman waiting for Mitch when (and if) the job is done...Carrie (Merry Anders), with whom he recently had a whirlwind fling. With the possible exception of Sarge, none of these characters convey a similar sense of desperation to those in Wages and Sorcerer. There’s a big payday, for sure, but at no point does the job seem like a last option for any of them.

Nor does the overall journey feel as perilous. There are no scenes as tension-filled as the jaw-dropping bridge sequence in Sorcerer or the decaying turning platform in Wages. At no point does the trek seem utterly hopeless, with potentially insurmountable obstacles prompting the characters to consider giving up in despair. There’s danger, of course, but for much of the trip, these guys don’t even drive like their payload could blow them sky high at any moment. The only time Violent Road comes close to achieving the same level of suspense as Wages and Sorcerer is when the brakes in Mitch’s truck give out as he’s barrelling down the mountain. The movie even has the audacity to tack on an upbeat ending.

But while Violent Road is never particularly thrilling or memorable, it’s well made on a low budget and certainly watchable, with solid overall performances. Keith, in particular, is enjoyably stoic, studly and cynical. I think it might be especially interesting to those who’ve already seen The Wages of Fear or Sorcerer. This film never approaches the technical or thematic artistry of either - nor does it really try - but if nothing else, Violent Road earnestly adheres to the same basic premise and structure.

LOONEY TUNES COLLECTOR’S CHOICE, VOL. 3: More Obscurities From The Golden Years

LOONEY TUNES COLLECTOR’S CHOICE, VOL. 3 (Blu-ray)

1934-1964 / 177 min (25 shorts)

FROM WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

This third volume in Warner Archive’s Collectors Choice series continues raiding the vaults for more Looney Tunes obscurities from the golden years (and a few which aren’t). Like Volumes 1 & 2, it showcases 25 shorts, some of which haven’t been available on home video for years…if ever.

The disc contains a few pivotal pieces of Looney Tunes’ history. In “A Feud There Was,” a character known as Egghead in previous shorts is finally given a name: Elmer Fudd, while “Elmer’s Pet Rabbit” is director Chuck Jones’ first cartoon to feature Bugs Bunny. Elsewhere, the 1964 Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner short, “War and Pieces,” was Jones’ last before being fired by Warner Brothers.

Familiar faces pop up here and there in some lesser-known cartoons. Bugs stars in the hilarious “Wet Hare” and the comparatively lame “Dumb Patrol.” Daffy Duck plays a private dick in “China Jones,” which has seldom been seen in its entirety for good reason…its depiction of Asian stereotypes is a little shocking in this day and age. But for historical posterity, it’s here uncut (and also one of the reasons these discs come with a reminder they are intended for adult collectors).

A tender moment from "Sheep Ahoy."

Sylvester & Tweety show up once, as does the always funny Foghorn Leghorn, but the real treasure might be “Sheep Ahoy.” Some of you might remember Sam Sheepdog & Ralph Wolf, who punch the clock in the morning before squaring off against each other like it’s their 9-to-5 job. I always loved those and am happy they finally saw fit to include one. 

Elsewhere, there are a lot of one-off shorts by various directors dating as far back as 1934. Subjectively, most are more interesting than funny. However, “Punch Trunk,” about a 5-inch elephant sending New York into a panic, is a forgotten gem, while “There Auto Be A Law” is a gag-filled look at modern driving in the ‘50s.

Like the previous two releases, Looney Tunes Collectors Choice Vol.3 is a revealing collection of seldom seen cartoon shorts. Few would rank among the studio’s best, but collectors and completists will find a lot to like.

Litter Box Treasures: GUN THE MAN DOWN (1956)

In Litter Box Treasures, we focus on a variety of older films which aren’t necessarily classics, but are well-worth discovering.

GUN THE MAN DOWN (1956)

Starring James Arness, Angie Dickinson, Robert Wilke, Emile Meyer, Don Megowan, Michael Emmet, Harry Carey Jr. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. (76 min).

Essay by D.M. ANDERSON💀

Along with the well-established classics, Hollywood cranked out a slew of budget-conscious, quickly-shot westerns to capitalize on the genre's enduring popularity. Most were minor diversions, now largely forgotten, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some really good ones.

Gun the Man Down is one of those, and particularly noteworthy for several reasons. First, it features James Arness just before Gunsmoke made him a household name. Second, this is the first western directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, who’d go on to helm dozens of Gunsmoke episodes and several feature films starring John Wayne (who co-produced this). Third, it features Angie Dickinson, soon to become a Hollywood sex symbol, in her first prominent role.

The story is a fairly intriguing piece of revenge. Arness plays Rem, an outlaw left behind by his two partners after being shot during a bank robbery. To make matters worse, they take off with his girlfriend, Janice (Dickinson), during their escape. Rem goes to jail for a year and, upon release, wants some payback. His former partners, led by Matt Rankin (Robert J. Wilke), have since set themselves up pretty nicely with a small town saloon, and Janice has since settled in with Rankin. It doesn’t take long for Rem to track them down, but he has more in-mind than simply shooting them.

Not the most ambitious thing ever made, Gun the Man Down is quite good for what it is...a short, well-paced western with noirish plot elements (Janice could be considered something of a femme fatale). No one on either side of the camera stretches themselves too much, but enough to place it a notch or two above the usual low budget oaters of the era. On a side note, after seeing this, one might notice that the title doesn’t actually make much sense, but that’s just nitpicking.