'THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR'.......THE ELEGANCE OF CLASSIC CINEMA.......

 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

      'Elegance' is a word we've rarely applied to any film we've reviewed over the years.....maybe to some of the Hitchcock thrillers like "Vertigo" and "North By Northwest" and a few others. 

         You can call it elegance, call it class or something similar.....what we mean is the application of precision, restraint and craft. Add those things to a film, along with artistic inspiration and you've got yourself a classic that will stand the test of time. 

          Watching "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" again after who knows how many other previous viewings. we're still awed by its sheer state of perfection.....in its acting, production design, sumptuous music score, script and direction. 79 years later, it still casts an emotional spell over us.....(but only if you surrender fully to the story and the world it creates....) 

        We're back to the kinder, gentler turn of the 20th century in England, where determined widow Lucy Muir, (Gene Tierney) declares her independence from her shrewish, controlling in-laws. With her young daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) and housekeeper Martha (Edna Best), Lucy boldly rents a seaside cottage, even though it's haunted by the spirit of the roguish, boisterous sea captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison).

         The reserved but inwardly fearless Mrs. Muir and the brusque, imposing Gregg make an impossibly odd but strangely lovable match that to the subdued melancholy of both, can never be consummated. As their friendship and affection for each other grow over the years, Capt. Gregg chooses to vanish from Mrs. Muir's life, knowing he must let her experience the adventure of living in the real world and finding genuine corporeal romance.

        But Lucy's only attempt at giving her heart away ends in such crushing hurt and betrayal that she remains an unmarried recluse for the rest of her life, waiting in hope to be reunited with the dashing Captain Gregg.  (The rotten heartbreaking cad by the way, is well played by George Sanders, who'd come specialize in such roles.....)

          You can scoff all you like at that plot description but the film presents this paranormal romance with full believability and commitment.  Gene Tierney  and Rex Harrison's pure and chaste love has wit, charm and a star-crossed aura of inevitable destiny surrounding it. Their story exists in its own self-contained snow globe universe.... and in the midst this mad cruel age we now live in, it's a soothing balm to revisit Mrs. Muir and Capt. Gregg every so often. 

       The combination of Tierney's exquisite porcelain beauty and Harrison's suave sexuality make them a one-of-a-kind coupling.....they never so much as touch, but you won't have any trouble feeling the longing and desire between them.

        And let's now mention another of the film 's primary MVPs.....legendary composer Bernard Herrmann, who drapes the entire film with one of his richest, most achingly romantic scores ever....a score that even the famously cantankerous, irascible Herrmann thought of as his best work. 

         Which brings us back to that description of ....elegance. You can hear it in Philip Dunne's literate screenplay (taken from a novel by Josephine Leslie) and see it in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's expert, sure handed direction in bringing the best out of his cast. 

         That, BQ visitors, is what make classic cinema and makes us give this film nothing less than the 5 stars (*****) it deserves. 

         (And you can get when it hits its 80th anniversary next year, we'll be watching it yet again.)

'HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK'.....IN SEARCH OF LAUGHS.....WHICH THEY NEVER FIND....

 Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)

       Yet another film that falls into the category of "Who ever thought this was a good idea?"

        A lavishly budgeted, overproduced comedy, it recreates the teeming streets, theaters and vaudeville nightclubs of 1890's New York. And all of it photographed (as usual for period films made in the 1970's) in that muted, brownish desaturated color that signified 'a long, long time ago'. 

        And packed with the biggest superstars of the 70's....James Caan, Elliot Gould, Michael Caine and Diane Keaton. With direction handled by top A-list director Mark Rydell ("The Reivers", "The Cowboys", "Cinderella Liberty")

          Only one huuuge problem here.....especially for a comedy.....

          There's not a single minute of its 111 minute running time that's funny. Or even remotely amusing. In fact, it's damn painful to watch. All that money, time and talent thrown at the screen.....for nothing at all. 

         You'd need the Hubbell telescope to detect any humor in the script concocted by John Byrum and Robert Kaufman. With no trace of fun in sight, director Rydell concentrated on the decor and overall atmosphere, while allowing Caan and Gould to carry on like a dire blend of Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis and the Three Stooges.  They're excruciating to watch in action, dripping in flop sweat and desperation. 

        The boys play Harry and Walter, terrible vaudevillians and petty thieves who find themselves locked up in prison along with suave, aristocratic gentleman safecracker Adam Worth (Caine, the only cast member who survives with his dignity intact.) Worth despises the bumbling duo, who accidentally set fire to the thief's luxurious, furnished prison cell. (Apparently, Worth's charm and reputation makes him beloved among the prison staff.)

     Back in the big city, our dumb duo conspire to thwart Worth's next bank heist by robbing the bank ahead of him........with the aid of fiery progressive pamphleteer Lissa Chestnut (Keaton, in a waste-of-time role for her). This ridiculous caper involves the boys crashing a performance of an absurd musical, upending it with their own improvised, massively unfunny clowning, like a hellish remake of "A Night At The Opera". (At one point in this tortuous sequence, Gould dons blackface. Enough said.)

         The only diversion anyone might take out of this trainwreck comes from the film's enormous roster of familiar faces in the supporting cast.....Charles Durning, Burt Young, Lesley Ann Warren, Jack Guilford, Bert Remsen, Ted Cassidy and many more.

         Catastrophic from beginning to end, "Harry and Walter....", to absolutely nobody's surprise, flopped the instant it hit theaters, with the cast and filmmakers quickly disowning it. We wouldn't even recommend this film for fans of the actors involved.....for them, it might prove too  heartbreaking to sit through. 

         Unfit on any and every level. Zero stars (0). Avoid it whenever it rears its ugly head....

           

         

        

'BRIMSTONE HOLLOW'.....MURDER IN APPALACHIA......FOR GOSH SNAKES!

  Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan (2026)

     Nothing's better to cozy up with than a swiftly paced mystery steeped in the atmosphere of its location.....taking you to a place that seems so familiar and yet somehow strange and threatening at the same time.

     And that would perfectly describe the rural Americana settings of Appalachia where Private Investigator Annie Gore operates. Her latest case takes her to a small town that was mystified and enthralled by a snake handling preacher.......until he was found dead, bitten and poisoned by the very reptiles that curled around his arms during his thundering sermons.

     The preacher's daughter, raised by a mother who fled the marriage to her father, now hires Annie to look into why her father's funeral and burial came and went with such speed in that supposedly sleepy little town. Annie Gore, toughened by an unsettled childhood and her years as an Air Force investigator, won't leave that town until all of its darkest secrets are laid bare. Because it's clear that preacher Ezra King's death by snakebite was no accident and the increasing pile up of murders that follow more than bear that out.

     Author Archer Sullivan knows her territory like only an Appalachian can and the town, with its bizarre church, supernatural rumors and notorious deep sulfur pit are vividly depicted. A dangerous place to poke your nose into private lives, but Annie Gore won't leave town until there's closure for her client and an end to the mysteries swirling around the high body count. .

The book's incredible, tragic reveals finally come at you one after the other. 'Brimstone Hollow' may not sound like an ideal vacation spot but it makes for a solidly page-turning whodunit.

       4 stars (****).

'A KILLER PLOT'......MURDER, SHE FOUND.......AGAIN AND AGAIN......

 A Killer Plot by E.C. Nevin (2026) 

     Welcome back, Jane Hepburn, great to see you back in sleuthing action. Jane, the tall, ungainly mystery novelist who's led a poignant life as a lonely, friendless outcast since childhood, once again encounters murder most foul in the publishing world. It's nice to report that since her last adventure, Jane's exhibits at least a smidge more self respect and less endless self depreciation. And she now has two genuine best buds who constitute her Scooby squad when hunting down killers.....young writer Natasha Martez and publisher intern Daniel Thurston.

     At a book party celebrating Natasha's fast selling debut mystery, Jane, all too typical for her, stumbles upon the body of a young, vivacious assistant editor.........and the poor girl won't be the first murder victim. Her boss comes next.......and guess who stumbles on that fresh corpse too?

     Author E.C. Nevin again creates a daunting array of suspects and motives for Jane, Natasha and Daniel to untangle. And along the way, there's no end of behind the scenes looks at the publishing universe of authors, editors and agents . Jane herself, even as she doggedly hunts down clues, looks for inspiration to break through her writer's block.

     My only quibble here is the same one I had with the previous book in the series, 'A Novel Murder'. Author E.C. Nevin displays a genuine talent for witty byplay, but rations it out in teaspoon portions. I only wish these books would graduate to 2-cup measuring spoons for the humor. But I was also truly taken and moved with amount of Jane's introspection into the ironic tragedies that surround the surprising final reveals.

      Everything's here you'd want in a great whodunit, including a detective unlike any other. Here's hoping for even more friends and self confidence for Jane in her next excursion........(but I'd advise anyone who attends these publishing parties with her to watch their backs from now on....)

     4 stars (****).

'MY KILLER FAMILY REUNION'......THE FAMILY THAT SLAYS TOGETHER.....JUST FOR FUN.....UNTIL IT ISN'T.....

 My Killer Family Reunion by Dinesh Thiru (2026) 

     Nothing warms the heart more (and turns the pages faster) than a large extended family whose every member contemplates their own effective way to bump off the fam's powerhouse Matriarch. An amusing game the clan plays with each other that even tickles the Grand Mom herself, as she is called by everyone.

Amusing, that is, until it becomes apparent that somebody in the Devi family isn't kidding around with their intentions. And it falls to the most ignored, forgotten of the Devis, teen Jayshree, to become the family's most dedicated sleuth in getting to the bottom of things.

     This book literally teems with not only Devi parents, children, and cousins, there's also plenty of rivalries, secrets, romances, heartbreak, humor, attempted murders and even some nail biting suspense and do-or-die action. Jayshree manages to navigate her way through it all, even as her cousins, along with the rest of the family, conspire to put her in the path of that visiting charming Spanish student who's beginning to make her heart flutter.

     Author Dinish Thiru has put together a hugely entertaining package here. And it's filled to the very brim with all the messy comedic moments,, heartfelt drama and surprises that could only occur when such a large family reunites in one place. Enough chaos reigns to split them all asunder but those family bonds are tough to break.

     Engrossing, fun and with enough stuff going on that could fill five other YA comedy-mysteries. Grand Mom rules, but keep your eye on her now unforgettable granddaughter Jay.

      4 stars (****).

'BRIDGET & GABE ARE NOT OKAY.....YE OLDE YA LOVE TROUBLES....WITH THE KNIGHTS OF ANGST AND QUIPS.....

  Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay by Lex Croucher (2026)

     Once again, author Lex Croucher cleverly confirms what we always suspected......that the mythical, mystical world of Arthurian England and Camelot was actually populated by YA characters steeped in simmering hormones, romantic angst and the ability to fire off snappy, snarky remarks at any given moment.

     Well, after the fun of 'Gwen and Art Are Not In Love", our favorite Camelot cosplay gang is back. But, sorry to say, not with quite as much of those laugh-out-loud moments we all enjoyed in the first book. The aftermath of battle has left two major queer romances on rocky paths strewn with hurt feelings, miscommunications, PTSD, and severe identity crisis. King Gabriel, given to panic attacks and almost zero self confidence, painfully pines for knight Sir Arthur. HIs sister Princess Gwendoline deals with similar anxiety over her love gone awry for the fierce girl warrior Bridget, who's afraid she's lost her courageous jousting bravado.

     There's only one way for these crazy kids to resolve their issues....... summon the Knights, create the Round Table and hit the road in search of the Questing Beast, the Green Knight, the Lady in the Lake and the Holy Grail. Not to mention rev up some favorable P..R. for Gabriel's progressive, groundbreaking new dictates for the kingdom, like legalizing same sex relationships and getting kids off the farm and into schools.

     The book does have some real sly witty fun with the various quests, some of which come to resemble the Monty Python misadventures. But the focus here remains on the two young queer couples struggling to rekindle those burning fires between them that never really went out.....only tamped down by cruel circumstance and their own misunderstandings of each other. And with their long questing exploits almost at an end,, the stakes are suddenly raised higher than all four of them ever anticipated.

     The adroit bending and warping of Arthurian legends remains captivating and you most definitely won't want to stop reading until you're satisfied that Bridget and Gwen and Art and Gabe are way more than okay.

     4 stars (****).

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP......SPECIAL "VANDALS STOLE MY MISSILES!!" EDITION.......

 

BQ visitors....Have a great, great weekend. See you all on monday More film reviews and a big batch of fascinating new books to talk about too!

And hey there, Trumpanzees!  We saved this one just for you. Feel free to think about it while you're at the gas pump or grocery store.....