The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

Harry Street (Gregory Peck) lies in a cot on the savannah beneath Kilimanjaro and ponders his life.  He finds now a good time to ponder as he is dying.  His wife, Helen (Susan Hayward), is upset by his dire prediction and fretful that it might be true.  Ignorant or uncaring of his wife's feelings, he blathers on about his impending death from gangrene before nodding off.  His mind travels back to his youth and the first girl whose heart he broke.  His drive to be a successful writer meant that he had to experience as much as he could.  He would be a wanderer.  In Paris, Cynthia Green (Ava Gardner) caught his fancy.  She was the love of his life, if only he had realized that sooner.  In fact, he met Helen on account of she looked like Cynthia.  So much left to write and so little time.

Harry is thoroughly unlikeable.  He is a worthless cad, a man blind to all that is in front of him.  He is so eager to absorb experiences about which he can write but learns nothing from his extensive experience with women.  Of course, the women aren't much better.  Cynthia is too afraid to tell him she's pregnant but brave enough to tumble down a staircase to miscarry.  Countess Liz (Hildegard Knef) is noxious, showing that Harry has terrible taste in women.  Or, more likely, he is willing to endure wealthy women.  Indeed, Helen is rich.  Has Harry parlayed his moderate fame as an author into several gigs as the kept man of affluent women?

The role did not suit Gregory Peck.  Harry is a lowlife, while Peck has the stature of an upstanding citizen of high morals.  Despite having been a heavy drinker in life, he offers unconvincing evidence of it in acting.  Serious and stern were Peck's bread and butter in acting.  Foolishness and high spirits are unconvincing.  Really, he comes across as a mediocre actor here.  There is something to be said for typecasting.  I was reminded of Arabesque, another film where he did not fit the role.

Skip.

The Sea Wolves (1980)

In the Indian Ocean during World War II, the Germans are sinking British ships with astonishing regularity.  It is as if the Germans know when and where to find the ships.  It is suspected that the Germans have a spy in the Portuguese port of Goa on the west coast of India.  Indeed, three German ships are anchored in the harbor but the Portuguese - who are neutral in the war - have removed the radios.  Colonel Lewis Pugh (Gregory Peck) and Captain Gavin Stewart (Roger Moore) travel to Goa to investigate.  While there, attempts are made on their lives and they conclude that a secret radio is on one of the German ships.  Again, as this is a neutral port, British commandos can't just attack.  Instead, Colonel Pugh calls upon the Calcutta Light Horse, a group of retired soldiers who are eager to help the war effort.  Colonel William "Bill" Grice (David Niven) is their commanding officer.  They plan to sail a junker of an Indian riverboat into Goa harbor and assault the German ships by surprise.  Major Crossley (Patrick Macnee) is an explosives expert who will make sure all the German ships are sunk.  Can a bunch of middle-aged and out of shape former soldiers pull off a daring assault?

While Colonel Pugh leads the assault, Captain Stewart and Jack Cartwright (Trevor Howard) plan a variety of distractions for the night of the raid: a high-end party, a fireworks show, and free brothels paid by an eccentric German philanthropist!  Not one to be all business, James Bond... er... Gavin Stewart finds time to romance Mrs. Cromwell (Barbara Kellerman).  Of course, he does not realize that she is a German spy who is having a hard time deciding if she should kill him or not.  Gee, that doesn't sound like a retread of The Spy Who Loved Me.

Made by the same team that produced The Wild Geese, the original casting had hoped to include Richard Burton and Richard Harris as Pugh and Grice.  The movie does have a Wild Geese feel to it with a batch of older men playing soldier in this off-the-books raid.  The movie delivers what it promises, a commando raid by retirees, but it fails to have memorable characters or particularly good action scenes.  The most interesting characters were James Bond... er... Gavin Stewart and Jack Cartwright.  Trevor Howard, who is usually the commander in such films, is here a retiree desperate for action and willing to take any role.  He can be cantankerous, funny, and oddly charming.  Something of a departure for him, at least of the roles I've seen of his.

This is based on a true story and the historical photos of Pugh, Stewart, and Grice are shown in the credits.  Even so, it is just okay.

Arabesque (1966)

American Professor David Pollock (Gregory Peck) is teaching at Oxford when he is approached to translate a hieroglyph for Nejim Beshraavi.  He declines and continues on with his day.  Shortly thereafter, he is kidnapped!  Prime Minister Hassan Jena, a famous Middle Easterner, proves to be the kidnapper.  Pollock is positively predisposed to Jena and listens to his spiel.  Jena wants Pollock to accept the commission to translate and forward the results to him.  Pollock meets with Beshraavi (Alan Badel), a man who speaks with a polite pomposity but also an unmistakable undertone of threat.  Pollock has hardly begun to translate the hieroglyph than Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren) intrudes.  She attempts to snatch the hieroglyph, but Pollock is quicker.  Soon, Pollock finds himself as a pawn in a game of international espionage.  He is unsure of whether he can trust Yasmin, but she's near irresistible.

The story is so-so and the villains mostly unimpressive.  One is seldom worried for Pollock's safety.  The villains' competence and intelligence rise or fall with the needs of the story.  Of course, everyone double-crosses everyone.  There are few loyalties, Yasmin being the least loyal of all, it would appear.  The climax doesn't make much sense.  Why kidnap Jena?  Why fly the helicopter under the bridge?  In retrospect, the plot doesn't work, but it was still fun to watch it unfold.

Gregory Peck does not quite get the role.  This was written for Cary Grant, and Peck doesn't fill those shoes.  The comedy doesn't come easily for Peck.  His drug-induced highway dance was more cringy than funny, his hangover was unconvincing, and his Eureka moment was out of character.  On the other hand, Sophia Loren is perfect for her part.  She can play the coquette, the conniver, and the femme fatale.  She also has no trouble with the comedy.  Her deadpan comment while in the shower was hilarious.

The cinematography is creative.  There are lots of shots where characters are seen in mirrors or reflected in windows, providing a split-screen effect.  There are some peculiar angles.  The oddest shot was when the characters were descending a spiral staircase but were largely obscured by an interposing crystal chandelier.  Donen was unhappy with the script but time constraints on the availability of Peck and Loren meant he had to start shooting.  As such, he tried to hide the script behind action and daring cinematography.

Good popcorn fun.