Julius J. Epstein
Klezmer music is a fusion of Eastern European folk tunes with jazz and other influences. It was (and is) the preferred celebratory music of Sephardic, or Eastern European Jewry around the world and is now enjoying a new upswing in popularity. In fact, it is popular in places and among groups far beyond its Gypsy/Jewish origins earlier in this century. Not only has it become well enough known so that riffs from it are heard in a song by folk/country musician Emmylou Harris, but it is now quite fashionable in Germany, which is where this documentary was made. The Epstein Brothers form one of the oldest klezmer bands still playing, and their active retirement is the focus of this documentary. In some sense, the history of their musical association is the history of klezmer. They perform in their retirement community in Florida, but they are frequently invited to perform in New York City and Germany. Of course, the film's best highlight is its music. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Tom Conti stars as a drunken Scottish poet who preys upon the lasses of a New England college town by swooning over them with poetry and bedding them with a passion. He'd probably have continued in such fashion for who knows how long, were in not for his encounter with a lovely homespun gal (Kelly McGillis), who sets his head spinning in a lovesick swirl and forces him to get his life on track. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Conti, Kelly McGillis, (more)
- 1978
This four-hour TV movie is one more of novelist Harold Robbins' "guess who everyone is supposed to really be?" wallowfests (with nary a Jolly Roger in sight). The "pirate" is Baydr (Franco Nero), an anti-Semitic Lebanese oil sheik, who, unbeknownst to himself, is actually an Israel-born Jew fathered by Ben Ezra (Eli Wallach). Baydr marries a haughty American WASP, Jordana (Anne Archer as a blonde), whom he meets at JFK's 1960 presidential campaign, and fathers a son by her. Meanwhile, Leila (Olivia Hussey), one of Baydr's two daughters from a prior marriage, trains to become a PLO terrorist and plots to kidnap Jordana and her son by Baydr. The modern viewer is luckier than those poor TV fans of 1978 who had to sit through two nights of this nonsense: the currently available syndicated version of Harold Robbins' The Pirate (retitled simply The Pirate) runs a mere 150 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Recently widowed Dr. Nichols (Walter Matthau) finds himself ill at ease in re-entering the singles scene. Then he meets Ann Atkinson (Glenda Jackson), a patient recuperating from a jaw operation. Freshly divorced from a philandering spouse, Jackson is as reluctant to inaugurate a lasting commitment as Walter--but inaugurate they do, in a hilarious scene wherein Jackson and Walter try to emulate those romantic couples in 1930s movies who were forced by the censors to keep one foot on the floor while lying in bed. It is Jackson who encourages Matthau to stand up for his ideals during a lawsuit involving senile head physician Dr. Willoughby (Art Carney, who is unbearably funny at times). Richard Benjamin rounds off the cast of polished farceurs who add so much sparkle to House Calls. The film was later adapted into a TV sitcom starring Wayne Rogers in the Matthau role, Lynn Redgrave (and later Sharon Gless) in the Jackson counterpart, and David Wayne as a less aphasiatic version of the Carney character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, (more)
A quote from Bertolt Brecht ends this bitter and angry war film by Sam Peckinpah: "Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again." Peckinpah's intense and belligerently non-commercial work, (based on the book by Willi Heinrich), is a World War II tale told from the German perspective, following a platoon of German soldiers in the Russia of 1943, when the German Wehrmacht forces had been decimated and the Germans were retreating along the Russian front. James Coburn is Steiner, a German corporal and recipient of the Iron Cross who feels that he owes his loyalty to his family and fellow soldiers and not to Hitler and the German war machine. But when a new commander, Captain Stransky (Maximillian Schell), takes over the platoon, Steiner and Stransky come into immediate conflict. Stransky is a career soldier, the complete opposite of Steiner, and a man who pledges himself heart and soul to Hitler and the war. But he envies Steiner for having been awarded an Iron Cross and deeply desires one himself. The problem is Stransky is a complete coward and recognizes that the only way he can be awarded an Iron Cross would be to get the bitter Steiner on his side. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, (more)
- 1975
- R
In this high-suds potboiler based on the best-selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, Mike Wayne (Kirk Douglas) is a past-his-prime movie producer who lives to make his college-age daughter January (Deborah Raffin) happy. January is also very fond of her father, perhaps more so than would seem healthy to the casual observer. Desperate to keep financing the good life for his daughter, Mike weds Deidre Granger (Alexis Smith), a wealthy bisexual who isn't about to give up her long-term relationship with Karla (Melina Mercouri). January finds herself pursued by suave playboy David Milford (George Hamilton), but she's more strongly attracted to Tom Colt (David Janssen), a middle-aged alcoholic novelist who reminds January of her father. Brenda Vaccaro won a Golden Globe award (and received an Oscar nomination) for her supporting performance as the man-crazy editor of a fashion magazine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Alexis Smith, (more)
- 1972
- PG
Based on Peter DeVries' novel Witch's Milk, Pete 'n' Tillie stars Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett in the title roles. Middle-aged when they first meet, eternally joking Pete and repressed "old maid" Tillie don't immediately hit it off. Gradually, their friendship deepens into love and culminates (reluctantly, on Pete's part) in marriage, eleven years of which is explored in this film. Throughout the funny and tragic moments, and despite the many breakups, their love endures. Oscar nominations went to screenwriter Julius J. Epstein and supporting actress Geraldine Page. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1966
The star of the Broadway version of Any Wednesday was Sandy Dennis. Headlining the 1966 film version is Jane Fonda, who imbues her character with enough quirkiness to satisfy both herself and the endearingly mannered Ms. Dennis. Fonda plays the dippy mistress of philanderer Jason Robards, who visits his paramour only on Wednesdays (hence the title). Dean Jones costars as the erstwhile swain who messes up Robards' routine by falling in love with Fonda. Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein does a expert job at expanding Muriel Resnick's play for the screen without robbing it of its inherent charm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1965
Ingrid Thulin plays a Polish inmate of the Dachau concentration camp who is liberated at the end of the war. Presumed dead, Ingrid returns to visit her husband (Maximillian Schell) She finds that his grief was fleeting at best; his new mistress is his "deceased" wife's daughter (Samantha Eggar) from a previous marriage. Since Ingrid's identity is masked by plastic surgery, she subtly re-enters their life without undue stress for either husband or daughter. But when the husband figures out the ruse, he murders his young paramour in the bathtub (a moment lavishly exploited in the print ads for this film) and plots to kill Ingrid for her money. A textbook case of implausibility, Return from the Ashes was adapted from an equally unbelievable novel by Hubert Monteilhet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maximilian Schell, Samantha Eggar, (more)
Light and laugh-filled, Send Me No Flowers is typical Rock Hudson and Doris Day fare. George (Hudson) is a hypochondriac married to Judy (Day) in this marital comedy. When George goes to visit the doctor, he overhears two doctors talking about a diagnosis of a terminally ill patient. George believes they are talking about him and that he is doomed to die. He recruits his friend Arnold (Tony Randall) to find a new husband for Judy. Judy thinks George is covering up for an illicit affair and throws him out of the house. George locates Judy's old college flame Bert (Clint Walker), now a Texas oil millionaire. Excellent performances by Edward Andrews as Dr. Morrissey and Paul Lynde as the aggressive cemetery-plot salesman help this feature along. Although not as solid as the Day/Hudson pairing in Pillow Talk or Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers is still a good romantic comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Doris Day, (more)
- 1962
A mother who wants only the best for her challenged daughter faces a number of new and unexpected dilemmas in this romantic drama. Margaret Johnson (Olivia de Havilland) is a wealthy woman taking a tour of Europe with her 26-year-old daughter Clara (Yvette Mimieux). Clara is blonde, beautiful, and charming, but beneath the surface lurks a serious problem -- as a result of a head injury she suffered as a child, Clara is mildly retarded and has the mental capacity of a ten-year-old. While Margaret's husband Noel (Barry Sullivan) has long contended that Clara should be institutionalized, Margaret refuses to hear of it, and she sees to it that her daughter lives as normal a life as possible. While in Italy, Margaret and Clara meet a handsome young man named Fabrizio Naccarelli (George Hamilton), the son of a prosperous local, Signor Naccarelli (Rossano Brazzi). Fabrizio is immediately smitten with Clara, and she seems equally fond of him; since Frabrizio has a spotty command of English and isn't especially perceptive to begin with, he doesn't notice anything unusual about her. Before long, Fabrizio asks Margaret for Clara's hand in marriage; while this would be a big step toward the "normal" life that Margaret has long dreamed of for her daughter, she's not sure if Clara is capable of handling the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood, and she is equally uncertain if she should reveal the nature of Clara's condition to the Naccarellis, even though she knows that it would be terribly unfair for Fabrizio to marry Clara without knowing the truth. Light in the Piazza was beautifully shot on location in Italy by award-winning cinematographer Otto Heller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
Fanny was adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the final chapter of Marcel Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy". Pagnol's original, titled Cesar, ends with protagonist Marius returning to the sea, leaving behind his lover Fanny and their son. Expanding upon the original, Fanny picks up the narrative nine years later. Marius (Horst Buchholtz) finally meets his son and is reunited with Fanny (Leslie Caron). She tells him that Panisse (Maurice Chevalier), the elderly suitor who married Fanny to save her from disgrace, is dying. On the verge of shuffling off his mortal coil, Panisse gives Fanny and Marius his blessings, hoping that they'll marry at long last. Charles Boyer co-stars as Cesar, the philosophical gent portrayed in the 1930s film versions of the Pagnol trilogy by the great Raimu. Fanny goes its merry way without any of the songs in the original Broadway score, despite the proven musical talents of Caron and Chevalier. Producer/director Joshua Logan saved himself plenty of embarrassment when he agreed not to release this film as Joshua Logan's Fanny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, (more)
- 1960
In this romantic comedy, a young basketball star proposes to a tall and intelligent coed while attending Custer College. She accepts, and he begins to worry about how they will get the money they need to survive. He then finds himself tempted to take a gambler's bribe and throw the game during an upcoming match with a Russian team. The weight of his decision affects his studies, causing him to fail a major test. As a result, he nearly misses the big game. Jane Fonda made her debut in this film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins, (more)
- 1959
Young (19-year-old) reggae and rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Nash stars in this conventional coming-of-age story about a well-heeled, Afro-American teen trying to find his way in a white-man's world. The realities of that world hit Spencer (Nash) hard, and at first he looks for solace and comfort in the black community, especially since like most teens his age going to his parents for support or consultation is out of the question. In his search for identity and meaning, Spencer comes to see the family maid Christine (Ruby Dee) in a way he never did before, and an implied sexual relationship with this kind-hearted, older woman begins to awaken in him a different, more adult viewpoint on life and its traumas. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Nash, Ruby Dee, (more)
- 1958
Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov is given a Hollywood screen treatment by producer Pandro S. Berman and director Richard Brooks. Yul Brynner plays Dmitri Karamazov, a callous Russian officer who cuckolds his domineering father (Lee J. Cobb) with the old man's mistress Grushenka (Maria Schell). Richard Basehart is Dmitri's intellectual brother Ivan, while William Shatner is the pious Alexey Karamazov; both men eventually enjoy the attentions of the willing Grushenka. The Karamazovs' half-brother is Smedyakov (Albert Salmi), an epileptic whose purpose in the story is clarified after the family patriarch's murder. It is now part of Hollywood folklore that Marilyn Monroe fought long and hard to be cast as the enigmatic Grushenka. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, (more)
Luther Davis' racy wartime comedy Kiss Them for Me was expurgated a bit for the 1957 film version. Cary Grant, Ray Walston and Larry Blyden portray three navy war heroes who've been booked on a morale-building "vacation" in San Francisco. Eluding their ulcerated public relations officer (Werner Klemperer), the trio arranges a wild party with plenty of pretty girls. Cary Grant is paired with knockout Suzy Parker, an icy socialite who eventually thaws under his charms. Also on hand is Jayne Mansfield, playing a "good time girl" whose profession was a bit more explicit in the original play; the role was originated by Judy Holliday, who brought a wistfulness to the character that Ms. Mansfield couldn't quite manage. TV sitcom fans will get a kick out of the supporting cast of Kiss Them For Me: Ray Walston, later star of My Favorite Martian plays a libertine navy officer; Werner Klemperer, shorn of the accent he'd use as Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, is hilarious as the flustered p.r. man; and Richard Deacon (Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show) pops up unbilled as a dour businessman who can't understand the war-hero mystique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Suzy Parker, (more)
Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith's Broadway hit The Tender Trap is transformed into a beguiling Frank Sinatra film vehicle. Sinatra plays a Manhattan showbiz agent, Charlie Y. Reader, who enjoys the attentions of several willing young ladies. At an audition, Charlie meets aspiring actress Julie Gillis (Debbie Reynolds), who is so determined to land a husband that she's already set the date. She goes out with Charlie for a short while, then announces that she won't marry him until he gives up all his other girls. Charlie, who hasn't said word one about marriage and who'd been preparing to give Julie the brush-off, is startled by her ultimatum -- so much so that he genuinely falls in love with her, which (we can safely assume) was her intention all along. A complication involving Charlie's former amour Sylvia Crewes (Celeste Holm) and his best friend Joe McCall (David Wayne) paves the way for the film's slightly offbeat denouement. In addition to scoring at the box office, The Tender Trap yielded a hit song (written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen), which would remain a part of Frank Sinatra's repertoire for the rest of his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1954
Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Paradise Revisited, MGM's The Last Time I Saw Paris is a star-studded soap opera, luxuriously lensed by director Richard Brooks. In his last film as an MGM contractee, Van Johnson plays reporter Charles Wills, who while covering the VE Day celebrations in Paris, meets and falls in love with the gorgeous Helen Ellsworth (Elizabeth Taylor). Soon afterward, Charles and Helen are married. Charles supports his wife with a low-paying wire service job, devoting his evenings to writing a novel. After numerous rejections, Charles is more than willing to give up writing and live off the revenue of a Texas oil well in which he'd invested. As he squanders his newfound riches on creature comforts, he loses his literary ambitions and, slowly but surely, the love and devotion of his wife. His self-destructive behavior is halted only by a devastating tragedy. Donna Reed costars as Charles sister-in-law Marion, who carries a torch for him throughout the picture. Since lapsing into public domain in 1982, The Last Time I Saw Paris has become a cable-TV and video-store fixture, though print quality varies sharply. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, (more)
Young at Heart is a soft-pedaled, musicalized remake of 1938's Four Daughters. Robert Keith takes over the Claude Rains role as paterfamilias to a family of musical prodigies, all girls: Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elizabeth Fraser (the fourth daughter was written out of proceedings, no great loss). Keith's new boarder Gig Young, a musical-comedy composer, becomes the three daughters' heart balm, whether he wants to our not. When he gets stuck creatively, Young invites his tempestuous pal Frank Sinatra to help him finish his score. Sinatra essays the old John Garfield role, retaining a generous supply of Garfield's chip-on-shoulder edginess. But whereas Garfield's character dies in Four Daughters, Sinatra survives for a happily-ever-after clinch with Doris Day. Most of the songs heard in Young at Heart were already standards in 1954--with the notable exception of the Johnny Richards-Carolyn Leigh title number, which of course became a part of Frank Sinatra's standard repertoire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, (more)
- 1953
Sir James Barrie's whimsical play Rosalind was updated and urbanized as the 1953 film Forever Female. Ginger Rogers plays a veteran Broadway star who has optioned a play written by William Holden. Though on the less sunny side of 40, Rogers expects to play the leading role, that of a 19 year old girl. Producer Paul Douglas--who also happens to be Rogers' husband--insists that Holden alter the age of the main character. Meanwhile, iron-willed ingenue Patricia Crowley, who is far more suited to the part than Rogers, begins her own campaign to win the role. Far more enjoyable than the plot mechanics of Forever Female are the sly showbiz inside jokes, courtesy of screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein. It's also fun to tick off the familiar faces in the supporting cast, including George Reeves as a stuffy suitor, future Mrs. Bing Crosby Katherine Grant as an auditioning actress, and Gunsmoke and Dragnet villain Vic Perrin as an effeminate set designer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, William Holden, (more)
- 1951
Take Care of My Little Girl is a genteel "expose" of college-sorority snobbery. Jeanne Crain stars as Liz Erickson a perky coed who is pledged to an old, established sorority. At first amused by such rituals as "rushing" and "Hell week," Liz eventually feels threatened by the tyranny of the sorority caste system. She is particularly upset with her "sisters"' preoccupation with doltish boyfriends and their disdain for their classwork. With the moral support of student Joe Blake (Dale Robertson), Liz finally gets her priorities in order. Take Care of My Little Girl would make a fascinating companion piece with For Men Only (1951), director Paul Henreid's vitriolic attack against the injurious rituals of male fraternities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, (more)
- 1949
Producer Samuel Goldwyn dishes up sentiment by the bowlful with My Foolish Heart. Susan Hayward is (somewhat unconvincingly) cast as a wide-eyed girl from Idaho who meets bon vivant Dana Andrews at a Manhattan party. Their brief affair results in a pregnancy, but since Andrews has been killed in the war, Hayward marries a man she doesn't love to give her child a name. The experience turns the girl into an embittered alcoholic, but she sees the light before she can cause grief for her baby. Based on a story by J. D. Salinger (the only one of this reclusive author's stories ever translated to film), My Foolish Heart strains credulity to the breaking point, but was popular enough to yield a hit title song, which is still a standard on "easy listening" FM radio stations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1948
George Seaton's 1948 comedy Chicken Every Sunday was based on the play by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein as well as the original memoirs of Rosemary Taylor. Set during the turn of the century on the American frontier, Emily Heffernan (eleste Holm) is the practical wife of foolish would-be businessman Jim Heffernan (Dan Dailey). While Emily struggles to keep the household together by renting out rooms to boarders, Jim wastes the family's earnings on get-rich-quick schemes. Told in flashback, Emily recalls her 20-year marriage before filing for divorce. Emily has had enough and wants to leave, but their friends try to get them back together. Also starring Colleen Townsend, Alan Young, and a ten-year-old Natalie Wood. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Dailey, Celeste Holm, (more)
This cute film is Doris Day's film debut and in it she plays Georgia Garrett, a substitute traveller on an ocean cruise. Her friend Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) had scheduled the cruise but at the last minute cancels when she suspects that her husband is cheating on her and she decides to stay at home to check up on him. So she gets her friend Georgia to go on the cruise in her stead. Meanwhile the husband hires a detective to watch Elvira while on the cruise, because, he too, suspects cheating. Of course, the detective falls for the substitute Elvira (Doris Day), making a somewhat complicated scenario with many possibilities. This is a fun-filled spoof with lots of good tunes by Doris Day. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1946
In this comedy, an adaptation of the play The Animal Kingdom, a liberal, social reformist photographer falls in love with a wealthy gadabout, and finds she abhors his decadent life even though she loves him. She then takes up with another whom she marries. Unfortunately, she still loves the playboy. This does not make her new hubby very happy especially when she and her ex-love meet again and begin carrying on. The husband ends up headed for a quickie divorce in Reno. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, (more)
