Robert Nelson Movies
- 1979
Engaging anecdotes and human warmth vie with humor to make this experimental film unusually rewarding for the viewer, despite its non-narrative character. In the first half of the film, the evocative power of old Hollywood, and early years of this century in southern California from Death Valley to Los Angeles are explored, humorously. The second half of the film careens around San Francisco and the surrounding area. In one episode, a family is caught in the act of opening their Christmas presents, in another, deer hunters practice their yodeling skills. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diane Nelson
In Roman Polanski's first American film, adapted from Ira Levin's horror bestseller, a young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes), move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and only elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon) soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building; despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, Guy starts spending time with the Castevets. Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Minnie starts showing up with homemade chocolate mousse for Rosemary. When Rosemary becomes pregnant after a mousse-provoked nightmare of being raped by a beast, the Castevets take a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castevets' circle is not what it seems. The diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth, and the baby is taken away from her. Polanski's camerawork and Richard Sylbert's production design transform the realistic setting (shot on-location in Manhattan's Dakota apartment building) into a sinister projection of Rosemary's fears, chillingly locating supernatural horror in the familiar by leaving the most grotesque frights to the viewer's imagination. This apocalyptic yet darkly comic paranoia about the hallowed institution of childbirth touched a nerve with late-'60s audiences feeling uneasy about traditional norms. Produced by B-horror maestro William Castle, Rosemary's Baby became a critically praised hit, winning Gordon an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Inspiring a wave of satanic horror from The Exorcist (1973) to The Omen (1976), Rosemary's Baby helped usher in the genre's modern era by combining a supernatural story with Alfred Hitchcock's propensity for finding normality horrific. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, (more)
- 1965
Luckless salesman Herbie Cornwall (Martin West) is envious of his wife Millie's success as a corporate secretary. Truth to tell, Millie (Susan Bay) is successful mainly because she is fooling around with several of the male executives. When Herbie finds out about his wife's peccadilloes, he has a nasty argument with her at her office, then grabs his sample case and storms out. Trouble is, he's grabbed the wrong case: the one in his hand is stuffed with money, thanks to an embezzlement scheme in which Millie is intimately involved. Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) enters the scene when Millie is murdered and Herbie is arrested for the crime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum star as Tony and Felix, co-owners of a tramp-steamer service in the West Indies. Threatening their friendship is itinerant trollop Irena (Rita Hayworth). Tony seethes with jealousy as Irena gravitates towards Felix, leading to a heated confrontation. Felix retaliates by blowing the whistle on Tony's under-the-counter smuggling activities. Tony in turns plots to kill his former partner, but changes his mind when Felix saves his life during a shipwreck. The supporting cast includes Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee, and Anthony Newley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1956
In the final episode of Dragnet's fifth TV season, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate a series of burglaries, all of which have occurred at local auto-rental agencies over a period of seven weeks. Chasing after one of the suspects, a police officer is seriously wounded, but is able to identify his assailant. When Friday and Smith catch up with the alleged perpetrator, the man insists that he was watching television at the time of the shooting--and "proves" it by naming the TV show he was viewing. Cliff Arquette, who had played character roles in several earlier Dragnet radio and TV episodes, here shows up in his familiar comic guise as witty hayseed Charley Weaver (and receives special billing for his efforts). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1954
This sixth in the "Ma and Pa Kettle" series produced by Universal stars (as usual) Marjorie Main as Ma and Percy Kilbride as Pa. After a whirlwind international tour, the contest-winning rustics and their fifteen children return to their old farm. The eldest Kettle son (Brett Halsey) has a chance of winning a scholarship prize to a prestigious university, prompting the Kettles to try to impress a representative (Alan Mobray) of the magazine offering the scholarship. The magazine man is arrogant beyond belief, but a warm and fuzzy Christmas celebration humanizes the pompous visitor, so everything ends happily (after the expected slapstick finale, that is!) Considered the best of the "Kettle" series, Ma and Pa Kettle at Home is worth the admission price if only to hear the veddy British Alan Mobray say the word "Ma". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, (more)
