Michael's Musings
WINGS OF THE HAWK
by Michael B. Druxman on 01/17/21
WINGS OF THE HAWK
WINGS OF THE HAWK is not great, but it’s an okay Western.
I have a special affection for it, not only because I first saw it in a theater when it was initially released in 1953, but because I knew several of the people involved with its production.
Director Budd Boetticher, in fact, was once my publicity client.
Julie Adams, Abbe Lane and Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez were also people I was acquainted with during my tenure in Hollywood.
Van Heflin plays a miner, caught up in the Mexican revolution of 1910-1911, when the corrupt administration seizes his gold mine. Soon, Heflin discovers that there is a price on his head in Mexico, and he winds up joining the rebel forces.
As a director, Budd Boetticher was known for his action sequences, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint with WINGS OF THE HAWK.
The new Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber presents the film in both 2-D and 3-D versions. Since I didn’t have 3-D glasses, I watched the 2-D version and was quite pleased with the presentation. The disc also includes a Woody Woodpecker cartoon.
GIRL
by Michael B. Druxman on 01/14/21
GIRL is a strange movie.
In some ways, it reminds me of one of my favorite films, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955), but instead of Spencer Tracy arriving in an isolated desert town via train, Bela Thorne comes to a dying town (presumably in the deep South) on foot. (The picture was shot in Canada.)
Bela’s purpose is to confront the father that deserted her when she was six. Unfortunately, somebody has just murdered him, and now our heroine not only seeks his killer, but also a bag of money that he had hidden somewhere.
Chad Faust and Mickey Rourke are also in the cast of this film, written and directed by Faust.
There are some good performance and a couple of effective scenes in GIRL, but the plot is convoluted. In fact, certain aspects of it, which I won’t divulge here, are a bit of a turn-off
Screen Media has released GIRL onto DVD.
RONALD REAGAN: MOVIE STAR
by Michael B. Druxman on 12/22/20
