It's not at all worth it. Bataille's novel, which I eagerly devoured after seeing "The Christmas Tree" the first time on CBS' The Late Show in December, 1975, is an OK read, but not too much better--or more interesting--than Terence Young's maudlin filming, in which there is little, if any, emotional involvement. William Holden, as the multi-millionaire dad, looks completely embarrassed. He has "I just wanted to work with Terry because he did such a good job on the Bond flicks and 'Wait Until Dark' written all over his fake expressions of concern. The best thing about TCT without question is Brook Fuller. Contrary to previous opinions, IMO he was a very talented young man - if you check him out on IMDb, you'll note his career was cut short early on; recovering from this dirge must have been difficult for him. But he gets the best line - "Live happy - Every day a holiday!" (That's certainly advice we can all use, but that's as good as it gets; meanwhile Mario Feliciani, as "Le Docteur," casually, nonchalantly reminds us that we're all mortals. Ho hum......) The alarm about nuclear accidents is hammered home repeatedly. From the beginning of the film, we spend the whole time waiting for poor Pascal to expire. When he does, it's more than just an anticlimax; it's hollow and catatonia-inducing. He has made a plaque for Daddy wishing him "Good Luck" - to me, it was "Good luck trying to get this sticky, pointless drivel out of your mind." Final note: Georges Auric wrote some of the incidental music, but the pseudo-sad guitar that weaves its way in and out of the soundtrack is clearly lifted from Les Jeux Interdits by Rene Clement - a much, much better example of how to get viewers to cry.
Reviews
3 Reviews
The Facility
(2012)
"The Facility" promises much more than it delivers
30 September 2013
"The Facility" has an eerie suspense in it, at least during the first half. Barnard, Coleman, Reid, Roberts et al are all capable performers and deserve much better scripts. Unfortunately I was able to see the direction the film was going by the time the first three "victims" had isolated themselves and gone bonkers as a result of the "pro-nine" drug they had been administered. It culminates in little more than a bloody mess, and a few brief follow-ups to signal that the 80-minute film is over - apparently it's based on an actual occurrence. I had been hoping for more of the eeriness, for example: when Katie discovers that Adam (Barnard) is actually one of the controls. The concept of people lured to a remote facility in order to earn money and finding out that they are being systematically tortured and left to their own devices is nothing new, but I thought that the first half-hour or so was very well done and suspenseful. Barnard is probably a star in the UK and is very expressive. He was also starred in "Citadel," which is even worse - louder and even less coherent and more gory than this ultimately disappointing thriller.
Curley
(1947)
A curiosity from Hal Roach, late in his career
31 May 2002
"Curley" was banned from many Southern theaters in the U.S. for depicting black and Caucasian children "playing happily together." Other than that it is a rather desperate attempt to recreate the Our Gang shenanigans, with lovely Frances Rafferty doing most of what real acting seems to be required. Another sideline: I saw this film on a 16mm camera in 1964 in second grade. My teacher supposedly screened it for the entire class in order to prove that instead of disliking me as I had thought, she was "very fond of" me, to quote Rafferty to little Larry Olsen in the final sequence, which was all that I remembered when I stayed up till 4 in the morning to watch it again (!!!) in 1983 on a UHF station. Not much of a movie, but fascinating to me on the two levels I mentioned above!
Tell Your Friends