1961 CinSpec Awards

Review: One, Two, Three (1961)

Mac (Cagney) with his employees.

Directed by Billy Wilder
Produced by Billy Wilder

Written by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder (script); Ferenc Molnár (play)

Starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, and Arlene Francis

Double Feature: The Guns of Navarone (1961) and The Longest Day (1962)

The Guns of Navarone (1961) - ****

J. Lee Thompson's World War II action/adventure operates on a simple premise: a group of Allied solders is assembled and charged with destroying two massive guns on Navarone Island that are preventing the rescue of 2,000 troops trapped on a nearby island. Arguably a B movie, it features a lot of thrills, much like Von Ryan's Express (1965) and The Great Escape (1963). War films of this kind are always better with a solid cast, and this one doesn't disappoint. Gregory Peck played a strict military officer in Twelve O'Clock High (1949), and he's no less effective as Captain Mallory, the leader of the outfit. Playing his comrades, David Niven as Corporeal Miller and Anthony Quinn as Andrea Stavros are also great as the brains and the brawn. The film might not be the most dramatic war picture ever made, but it has it moments, both in style and in substance. It's no wonder the Academy nominated this enjoyable movie.

Review: The Misfits (1961)

Clift, Monroe, and Gable as misfits.

Directed by John Huston
Produced by Frank E. Taylor
Written by Arthur Miller
Starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, and Eli Wallach