Cross of Iron (1977)

It is 1943 in Russia near the Black Sea.  Corporal Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) leads a platoon of soldiers on a patrol through Russian held territory.  He returns to the lines to find that Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell) is the new commander.  Stransky voluntarily transferred from a cushy assignment in France in order to win an Iron Cross on the front lines.  Stransky has already learned that Steiner is a living legend among the men and highly valued by the regimental commander, Colonel Brandt (James Mason).  Steiner has won the Iron Cross.  During a particularly difficult battle, Steiner is wounded and sent far behind the lines for recovery.  When he returns, he is asked by Brandt about the battle and whether Stransky deserved the Iron Cross for his part in it.  Stransky had never left his bunker.  When the army retreats, Stransky abandoned Steiner and his men to be overrun, hoping they would be killed.  Can Steiner dodge Russian soldiers and find the German Army?  Will he have his revenge?

As often is the case with a Sam Peckinpah film, the blood is plentiful.  The battle scenes dominate, a mixture of explosions, airborne bodies, bullet riddled soldiers, and collapsing buildings.  More time is spent on nameless soldiers being killed and blown up than is spent developing the characters.  When Lt. Meyer was killed, I only vaguely knew who he was, though it becomes noteworthy later.  To help differentiate them, several of his men have some distinctive characteristic: half an ear, severely scared face, impressive mustache, youthful grin.  Don't recall the names.

The conclusion wasn't.  The German lines are falling and the various characters are engaged in battle, but their fates are unknown.  They probably all died, except for Steiner; he returns in a sequel.

Just okay.

Murder by Decree (1979)

Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and Dr. Watson (James Mason) attend the theater, only to find the show delayed as it will not start until the Prince of Wales arrives.  When the tardy prince enters, the commoners boo!  Dr. Watson saves the day with a 'God save the monarchy!' or some such, earning great praise from Holmes.  It is 1888 and there are radicals who would see the monarchy toppled.  After the performance, Holmes and Watson exit to find hawkers selling news of the latest murder by Jack the Ripper.  To Watson's astonishment, Scotland Yard has not consulted Holmes regarding the murders.  However, a band of merchants is waiting for them at Baker Street and request that Holmes investigate Jack the Ripper.  Holmes is given a lead: speak to Robert Lees (Donald Sutherland).  Lees proves to be a psychic who has had visions of the Ripper and even spotted him once.  The police have dismissed Lees as a crank.  While Holmes follows the psychic, Watson interviews the various friends of the murdered women to see if there is some commonality.

I saw the movie in theaters when it was released and could only remember two things about it prior to rewatching it.  First, the royal family was somehow involved in the Jack the Ripper murders.  Second, Holmes squashed Watson's pea with a fork.

The plot is ludicrous.  The Duke of Clarence - younger brother to the Prince of Wales - had an affair with Annie Crook (Genevieve Bujold), a catholic, whom he also married.  Then he left her.  However, she gave birth to a daughter and that's trouble.  Word of this scandal filtered through the Freemasons, many of whom are at the highest echelons of government.  Two Freemasons decide to fix the problem.  One, a doctor, sends Annie to an insane asylum.  But where is the child?  They discover that Annie told some friends of her affair and entrusted the child to one of them.  The two Freemasons murder their way through the various friends, leaving the mutilated corpses for... reasons.  The police know that the murderers are Freemasons, thus their intentional incompetence in solving the case.  Sigh.

Much as I like Christopher Plummer, he made for a disappointing Holmes.  He is far too emotional for Holmes.  He is surprisingly jovial, often smiling and laughing.  He is reduced to tears after interviewing a woman in an asylum.  Plummer admitted at the time that his was a "passionate and caring Holmes."  Nope, Holmes should be aloof, analytical, and only occasionally amused by the foibles of others.

James Mason was too old for Watson.  However, he otherwise fits the role quite well.  Interestingly, he took the part only if his Watson wasn't a Nigel Bruce-like buffoon.  Indeed, his Watson is a steady and sober figure who is an active participant in the investigation, a partner to Holmes rather than a mere sidekick.

David Hemmings is wasted as Inspector Foxborough.  Perhaps he was meant as a red herring that I didn't see on this viewing.  Though he is generally helpful toward Holmes, he had other motives and eventually proves to be aligned with the radicals who booed the Prince of Wales.  Uh, okay.  Such political machinations proved to be more a distraction than an integral part of the story.  The muddy alliances of the Freemasons being pro-government and protecting the Ripper vs. the radicals being anti-government and seeking to stop the Ripper wasn't effectively done.

The inclusion of Donald Sutherland as a haunted psychic was bizarre.  Since when does Holmes use hocus pocus to solve crime?  However, when Sutherland pointed at the house of the Ripper, all I saw was his famous final scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Ha!  I wonder if that was intended.

The big fight scene between Holmes and one of the Freemasons was poorly done.  Why did Holmes leave his gun behind just before he went chasing after one of the murderers?  Not to worry, he has a scarf with a weight at the end.  How does one manage to get strangled to death in a net?  They're not going to kill him off like this, are they?  Yes, they are.  Pathetic.

Overall, disappointing.  This was not Sherlock Holmes, but some imposter taking his name.  This was not a mystery that required brilliant analytical skills, but merely a crime in need of very basic investigative work.  If not for the insanity of Annie or the overwhelming fear of Mary Kelly (Susan Clark), either of them could have just exposed the whole story.  Nope, they only give broken accounts that Holmes reassembled.  Meh.  Skip this one.

The Verdict (1982)

Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) is a broken lawyer who regularly drinks himself into a stupor.  Ten years ago, he narrowly dodged being disbarred.  Now, he is an ambulance chaser with few cases.  Mickey (Jack Warden) is an old friend who steers cases to Frank, only to have Frank lose in court.  However, the case of Deborah Ann Kaye looks like a winner.  Better yet, he meets a gorgeous woman, Laura (Charlotte Rampling), at his regular bar and is soon in a relationship with her.  Yes, things are looking up.  In fact, it looks so good that he declines a settlement check, infuriating his clients. And then everything starts crashing.  Defense counsel is Ed Concannon (James Mason), a truly formidable lawyer.  Frank's star witness has suddenly gone to the Carribean for an extended vacation.  His easy win is now looking like a certain loser and the offered settlement has been withdrawn.  Can Frank dig himself out?

Though Frank has a sad backstory that explains his current troubles, he is still hard to like.  Of course, he is a lawyer, which is already big strike against anyone.  Concannon is competent and smooth but likewise entirely unlikeable; again, lawyer.  As for Laura, she seemed a little too eager to hop in the sack with an alcoholic, even if he was Paul Newman.  She likewise proves to be a less than worthwhile character.  Really, it's all up to Jack Warden to provide a likeable character.  Of note, this was one of David Mamet's first screenplays.  Also, Bruce Willis appears as an extra in the courtroom audience.

Just okay.

ffolkes (1980)

A criminal band led by Mr. Kramer (Anthony Perkins) cons its way aboard a Norwegian supply ship that is bound for some North Sea oil drilling and processing platforms.  No sooner is the ship underway than they hijack it.  During stops at the platforms, divers are dispatched to plant explosives.  Once all the explosives are in place, Kramer contacted the British government and demanded millions in payment to save the platforms.  As luck would have it, Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Roger Moore) had trained his commandos for just such a situation.  Summoned to deal with the terrorists, ffolkes is soon calling the shots.  Oil Platform Administrator King (David Hedison), Admiral Brinsden (James Mason), and even the Prime Minister (Faith Brook) are following his dictates.

As a thriller, it is just okay.  There is very little action, mostly just tense situations.  The most interesting thing about the movie is the atypical casting of Roger Moore.  Rather than a suave ladies man in the vein of his ongoing role as James Bond, here he is a bearded, cantankerous, cat-loving misogynist.  The misogyny is played to the full with ffolkes.  Rather than make a request of Mr. King's secretary, he would tell King to tell her even though she was in the room.  Rather than the cultured drinking of Bond, here he swigs directly from the bottle that he keeps in his bag.  I suspect he found this role to be a pleasant change of pace, an opportunity to play against type.  Worthwhile just for that.