Tank (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)This film will never be remembered as great cinematic art. It will never ever be remembered as great comedy. As drama, it is fairly hokey. That doesn't matter, though. It is fun.
The story is of a Sergeant Major who accepts his last post outside a small southern town. This SGM, however has his own Sherman tank that he and his son restored. The problem is that the town and the entire county is run by a corrupt sherrif who is into liquor, prostitution and bribery. The SGM makes the mistake of hacking of this sherrif so the sherrif arrests the son on a bogus drug charge and sends him to a hellhole of a prison camp. It seems that nothing the SGM can do will help his son so he takes matters into his own hands, fires up the tank and rides to the rescue. From there, is is a chase to the state line.
Most of the elements of this movie are extremely predictable. Stereotypes abound. You almost know what is going to happen before it happens. That does not detract too much from the fun of seeing it happen, though. Some of the antics are so patently absurd as to be unworkable but they work in this movie, whether or not they would ever work in the real world. Its just silly fun.
James Garner is extremely likable as the sarge. This is by no means his greatest work but it looks like it was fun to make. Shirley Jones plays his wife and C. Thomas Howell is the wronged kid. So too are their performances less that stellar but they get the job done.
The good guys win. So does the viewer. Don't expect high art, just the fairly frequent laugh.

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Castaway Cowboy (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)In the early '70's, James Garner made two films for Disney studios, "One Little Indian" and "The Castaway Cowboy." Of the two, "Cowboy" is by far the best: a slight but entertaining little comedy-western co-starring the lovely Vera Miles (who was also in "Indian"). She plays Henrietta McAlvoy, the owner of a failing Hawaiian (known here as the Sandwich Islands) potato plantation whose native workers fish a nearly drowned deserter named Costain (Garner) out of the ocean. While Costain waits for a ship home to Texas, he hatches a plot to save the farm by turning it into a cattle ranch, using the Hawaiian workers as ranch hands. Of course, in Disney films of the era, there is always a villain, and "Cowboy" features Robert Culp as Bryson, a local businessman who romances Henrietta in order to get her land and when she won't sell, stoops to some nasty business to sabotage Garner's plan.
Everything is predictable and ends just like you think it might. Also quite predictably, Henrietta is a widow with an irrepressibly cute (i.e. cloying and obnoxious) preteen son played by "The Poseidon Adventure"'s young Eric Shea, who gives an even more annoying, don't-say-your-line-shout-it performance than he gave in the previous film. The only other performances of note are given by native Hawaiians playing the workers as stereotypes who exist merely as goofballs to be laughed at. (More about that later.) Only Elizabeth Smith as Henrietta's housekeeper escapes with her dignity intact, since she manages to make her character more than a one-note stereotype.
Finally, about Anchor Bay's DVD presentation. Even though the copy I received was in fullscreen format (instead of the advertised widescreen--grumble, grumble) I kept it because of the excellent remastered print and the addition of a cool copy of the original poster art from the 1974 release on the back of the scene breakdown card. I still would prefer widescreen, but at least the picture and sound are much better than the awful transfers Disney have been ripping us off with on its own lazy releases.
Now, a word of warning about the presentation of the native Hawaiian characters: if you are sensitive about racial issues and potential racism in the movies, you may want to steer clear of this film. The Hawaiian workers are stereotyped as lazy and undisciplined men-children who would rather swim and play than work. This fact may make the film as offensive to some as "Song of the South" is to African-Americans. However, the natives do become better, more competent workers by the end of the film, so proceed at your own risk!

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Duel at Diablo (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of the most unusual westerns ever filmed, Duel at Diablo deals with a number of clicheish situations in a refreshing, fascinating manner. More engrossing than entertaining, the intense emotion and delicately intertwined subplots are almost hypnotically effective in holding the viewer's attention. James Garner, Sidney Poitier and Dennis Weaver headline an excellent cast. Beautiful locations and an eerie soundtrack add to the overall power of the production. This film is probably too violent for many young viewers, but will prove a most satisfying experience for western buffs who prefer gritty realism to the more common shlocky horse operas. Duel at Diablo will never be found in a listing of top westerns, but it belongs there. In fact, it holds its own in any movie library, regardless of genre.

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