DVD Collectors Online

The Man Who Knew Too Much, a review by Dragonfire

The Man Who Knew Too Much - 1956 James Stewart and Doris Day give magnificent performances as Ben and Jo McKenna, an American couple vacationing in Morocco, whose son is kidnapped and taken to England.  Caught up in international espionage, the McKennas' lives hang in the balance as they race to save their son in the chilling, climactic showdown in London's famous Royal Albert Hall. My Thoughts This is the first time that I've seen all of this one.  I saw a little of it on television before.  I've also seen the earlier version.  The basic story is the same, though several things have been changed.  The pace is slower while everything is set up and introduced.  I wasn't bored by what was going on, though that did make a few scenes drag a bit.  The movie probably does move too slow for some people.  The slower pace does help to allow for the build up of tension that culminates in a wonderful sequence during the concert.  The ending does drag on a bit too long and is more anticlimactic, though it does resolve things.  I think the ending could have been handled better. There is a decent amount of mystery in the movie, most of it tied to Hank being taken.  I thought that Louis seemed a bit suspicious with how he dodged any personal questions.  Jo seemed to have some of those same feelings.  After Louis is murdered, things do pick up more, and the mystery starts building as well.  Like I mentioned, Jo is suspicious a few times, but she does do a few things that I didn't think were that smart.  She and Ben very quickly accepted Louis and a few other people.  They barely know Louis, yet they have him in their hotel room.  That just doesn't seem smart to me.  Of course, maybe people were more accepting when the movie was made.  For me, I would be way more cautious of strangers while traveling, especially if I had a child.  It did seem like Jo and Ben were a bit gullible once or twice, but that didn't really make me like the movie less.  Several scenes were shot on location in Morocco and some scenes in London.  With some of the scenes set in Morocco, I noticed that the backgrounds looked slightly off and I think they were probably done with projection or whatever it was called.  At one point, Ben and Jo are walking in an outdoor market.  For the beginning of the scene, it looks like they are on the real location.  Then the shot changes and the backgrounds look off again.  The scene changes again, and is back to footage shot on location.  Some kind of reshoot might have been needed for that sequence.  It is a bit different for music to be used so much in a Hitchcock movie.  The song that Jo sings with Hank does seem like a song a mother would sing with or to her child, but it still seems slightly out of place...even when it plays a more important part again later.  That doesn't mean that Doris Day doesn't sing beautifully.  The songs just seem a bit odd in this type of movie.  The characters are interesting and I think the cast does well with the parts.  I honestly can't remember having seen Doris Day in anything else.  She does really well in this one.  Jo does sort of flip out when she finds out about Hank being taken, but that seems like a natural reaction for a mother to have.  Jo and Ben seem to have a good marriage, though they have a few disagreements. This isn't one of Hitchcock's best, but it works as an entertaining movie.  It does deserve to be seen.  The slower pace will probably turn some people off.  I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone would like to take a look. The Man Who Knew Too Much

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on July 19th, 2010)

Captain Kronos : Vampire Hunter, a review by KinkyCyborg

Captain Kronos : Vampire Hunter



Title:Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Year: 1974
Director: Brian Clemens
Rating: R
Length: 91 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Horst Janson
John Carson
Shane Briant
Caroline Munro
John Cater

Plot:
In a small village in the remote English countryside, several young maidens have been found dead - their beautiful faces horribly aged almost beyond recognition. Suspecting a supernatural evil at work, the local doctor calls on Army friend and famed vampire hunter Captain Kronos, an expert swordsman formerly of the King's Imperial Guard. Aided by his expert assistant Professor Grost, the two quickly confirm the gruesome murders are the work of a unique type of vampire, one who drains its victims not of their blood, but of their youth! After forging a lethal new sword from an old graveyard cross, the vampire hunters set out to put an end to Evil's reign of terror in this Hammer Films horror classic.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Closed Captioned


Ultra no-budget Hammer Films movie that is not your traditional vampire movie. This vamp doesn't suck your blood, it sucks out your youth, leaving you a dried up old husk.

The acting is so bad it's actually quite entertaining. Gore hounds will be disappointed as I doubt you could fill a brandy glass with the amount of blood spilled in this one.

The most ridiculous aspect of the film has to be Grost, Kronos's faithful hunchback servant. He was actually one of the better actors but watching the 'hump' on his back shifting around precariously under his shirt was too much! 

The few highlights included some excellent swordplay at the end and Hammer pinup girl Caroline Munro who is more vampy than the beast they are hunting. Her beauty more than makes up for her lack of acting skills. 

As long as you keep in mind you are watching a Hammer Film then nothing about CK : VH should surprise you.

KC



Rating:


(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on December 20th, 2010)

Caroline in the City Marathon, a review by Tom

Caroline and the Married Man (1996-01-11)
Writer: Wil Calhoun
Director: Tom Cherones
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Andy Lauer (Charlie), Beau Gravitte (Tom Barna), Tom La Grua (Remo), Jessie Jones (Receptionist)

Average episode. Beginning of the unrequited love of Richard.



Caroline and the 28 lb. Walleye (1996-01-25)
Writer: Ian Praiser, Carol Gary
Director: Tom Cherones
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Andy Lauer (Charlie), Paul Castree (Chris Duffy), James Callahan (Mayor Paisley), Patrick T. O'Brien (Councilman Hardy), Beth Wishnie (Lindsay), Patricia Gaul (Mrs. Baerwald), Earl Holliman (Fred Duffy), Mariette Hartley (Margaret Duffy)

A good episode. Caroline gets a park in her hometown named after her, but her brother steals her thunder as usual.



Caroline and the Watch (1996-02-01)
Writer: Mark Wilding
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Andy Lauer (Charlie), Rose Marie (Stella Dawson), Morey Amsterdam (Vic Stansky), Robert Cesario (Mr. Dunn), Beans Morocco (Minister)

The opening titles change with this episode. Sadly they have done away with the little animated comic strips which they did for opening each episode.
Also new is that in this episode Caroline got the new work desk. Which means that finally Richard and Caroline can work at the same time

(From Caroline in the City Marathon on September 16th, 2008)