Charles de Vries Movies
In a comedy as flat as the cardboard cut-outs of movie stars that appear in one scene, Steve Martin plays Larry Hubbard, a wild and lonely guy who has been dumped by his girlfriend. Since misery loves company, he takes up with Warren, a fellow Lonely Guy (Charles Grodin), and eventually both Warren and Larry find some surprising companions, especially after Larry writes a best-selling Lonely Guy Guide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, (more)
The first person the audience sees in Ship of Fools is dwarf Michael Dunn, who speaks to viewers directly and acts as a Greek chorus throughout the film. It begins on the deck of an ocean liner travelling from Vera Cruz to Bremerhaven. The time is the 1930s, so close and yet so far from war. The cross-section of humanity on board includes ship's doctor Oscar Werner, Spanish political activist Simone Signoret, aging coquette Vivien Leigh, hedonistic baseball player Lee Marvin, philosophical Jew Heinz Ruhmann, a smattering of pro- and anti-Hitlerites (Jose Ferrer plays the nastiest and most vocal "pro") and young lovers George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley. Yes, it's Grand Hotel at sea, a feast for stargazers and an endurance test for those who aren't comfortable with non-stop speechmaking. Despite such lines as "What can the Nazis do? Kill all six million of us?," Ship of Fools manages to stay afloat throughout its 148 minutes. Michael Dunn was nominated for an Academy Award for his interlocutory characterization; the rest of the performances range from brilliant to merely filling up the room. Other Oscars were presented to cinematographer Ernest Lazslo and to the art-direction staff. Ship of Fools was adapted by Abby Mann from the novel by Katharine Ann Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, (more)
Bernhard Wicki directed this hard-hitting World War II espionage drama. Marlon Brando plays Robert Crain, a German deserter who is coerced by British Intelligence officer Colonel Statter (Trevor Howard) to impersonate a Gestapo officer in order to get aboard a German blockade runner that is conveying a valuable rubber cargo from the Orient. Crain's assignment is to save the rubber by finding a way to deactivate the explosives that the ship's captain would use to destroy the ship if captured by the enemy. Crain finds his way aboard the ship, but the ship's commander Captain Mueller (Yul Brynner), skeptical of the Nazis, refuses to let Crain out of his sight. When survivors of a sunken vessel board the ship, and Crain realizes that his identity may be exposed by two rescued German submarine officers, he incites Mueller's officers and the new arrivals to mutiny before his true identity is revealed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, (more)
- 1964
In a bombed-out French farmhouse, Hanley (Rick Jason) is savagely attacked by a wild girl named Annette (Anjanette Comer). Managing to subdue his attacker, Hanley finds out that Annette is mute and near-catatonic, possibly as the result of a terrible shock. When it develops that Annette may know where the nearby German forces are positioned, Hanley must break down the girl's wall of silence--and hopefully, discover why she has retreated from the "real world." Future Mary Tyler Moore regular Ted Knight is seen as a German sergeant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Wounded and left for dead by his grieving comrades, Hanley (Rick Jason) manages to make his way through occupied territory to a small farmhouse. Unfortunately, the two occupants--a woman named Annette (Denise Darcel) and her daughter Louise (Holly McIntire)--refuse to let him inside, fearing reprisals from the Germans. Before long, an enemy search party shows up looking for Hanley, who ends up risking his own safety for the sake of the terrified women. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
