Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

Something new for this pairing, we're doing anthology films! These are films that tell several stories with an over-arching connecting story that serves to link the other tales into a cohesive tale. First up is the start of a franchise, from Amicus studios, it's 1972's "Tales From the Crypt!" Featuring five different tales that all serve as visions for a group of people who've stopped to tour a historic crypt, and meet with the mysterious Crypt Keeper (played by Ralph Richardson), each story serves as a warning of sorts. "All Through the House" stars Joan Collins, "Reflection of Death" features Ian Hendry and Angela Grant, "Poetic Justice" stars horror legend Peter Cushing in a rare, sympathetic role, "Wish You Were Here" showcases Richard Greene and Barbara Murray in a modern take on the classic "Monkey's Paw" tale, and "Blind Alley" showcases the one and only Patrick Magee! Jeff chose this as one of the two horror anthologies in this pairing because it has, he believes, the single best vignette to be found in any anthology!

Wrapping up our salute to late producer/director Ivan Reitman is one of megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger's first forays into comedy, paired with action of course, in 1990's "Kindergarten Cop!" Arnold plays John Kimble, a veteran LAPD Detective, who heads to Oregon to try to find the wife of drug kingpin Cullen Crisp (played by Richard Tyson) so she can testify against him. Saddled with new partner Phoebe (Pamela Reed), he travels to Astoria, Oregon to support Phoebe as she goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher at Astoria Elementary School. Unfortunately, a severe bout of food poisoning means Kimble must take the reigns and assume the undercover teaching role, one he is woefully unprepared for. Watched like a hawk by Principle Miss Schlowski (Linda Hunt), and assisted by gorgeous fellow teacher Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller), Kimble must discover who Crisp's ex-wife is and convince her to help them! Unfortunately, along the way, the children worm their way into Kimble's heart, as does Joyce, so that when the various truths are revealed, a difficult decision must be made! Paired to a score by Randy Edelman, who brings out the best in both the action and comedy scenes, this film demonstrated that even the toughest action hero can have a softer side, and a funny side as well! And Geek Jeff finally names the two Horror Anthologies he'll be subjecting Buddy and Chad to for the next pairing!

For this pairing, we're saluting someone whose films we've reviewed several times on this podcast. We lost director/producer Ivan Reitman on February 12th of 2022. And so, we're dedicating this pairing to some of the few films Reitman has produced and directed that we haven't already reviewed! First up, the movie that established the tradition that would become known as the "Bill Murray speech," it's 1979's "Meatballs!" Directed by Reitman, and written by Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, Janis Allen, and Harold Ramis, Murry stars as Tripper, the head counselor at Camp Northstar, who adopts a young loner, Rudy Gerner (played by Chris Makepeace) and helps him survive his first summer at camp. Also starring Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov, Jack Blum, Keith Knight, Cindy Girling, Todd Hoffman, Margot Pinvidic, and Matt Craven, this film established the genre of the hijinks-filled screwball summer camp comedy! And with a fantastic score by renowned composer Elmer Bernstein, you have a classic that still stands as an entertaining and amusing story in the 21st century!

We're celebrating our 300th episode (last week) with a listener suggestion from Bennett Oberfeld, who commented that we had yet to pay tribute to the wonderful Hollywood director Billy Wilder, and so... now we are! This week it's Wilder's classic love story, set amidst the rampant infidelity of the corporate set, 1960's "The Apartment!" The film follows young insurance drone C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) whose apartment is constantly used by several of his higher-ups (David Lewis, Ray Walston, Willard Waterman, and Fred MacMurry) for their extra-marital trysts, leaving him to freeze outside. As his ship finally starts to come in, and he becomes a junior executive, he finds the confidence to begin trying to woo the lovely elevator operator Ms. Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). Unfortunately, someone else has already been wooing her, and when that goes sour, she ends up in Baxter's apartment in a precarious health situation! Again, as is common for Wilder's films, there is a happy-ish ending, but one that definitely shows growth on the part of the two main characters! The film also features wonderful performances from character actors Jack Kruschen and Naomi Stevens as Dr. and Mrs. Dreyfuss, Baxter's next-door neighbors. The film netted a whopping TEN Oscar nominations, and took home five of them: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White, and Best Film Editing! Plus, the trio unveil which two Ivan Reitman films they'll be reviewing next as a tribute to the director who passed away on February 12th, 2022.

It's a milestone we never thought we'd achieve when we started our podcast, but here it is: Our 300th episode! And to celebrate, we're focusing on a famous hollywood director and a listener suggestion both! Bennett Oberfeld gave us the suggestions back in December of 2022 that we look at the films of acclaimed director Billy Wilder, specifically the two we chose for our 300th and 301st episodes! We start with a film about two down-on-their-luck jazz musicians who witness a gangland massacre and hide out by pretending to be women in an all-female jazz band in 1959's "Some Like It Hot!" The film stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Joe and Jerry, tenor sax and upright bass, who join Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, an women-only jazz band and head to Florida, just one step ahead of the mob! Along the way, they meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, the band's vocalist (Marilyn Monroe). Joe becomes enamored with Sugar, and moonlights (literally) as a young millionaire to try to win her heart (amongst other things). Jerry, as Daphne, becomes the object of an older millionaire, Osgood Fielding III's (Joe E. Brown) affections, and he pursues "her" with vigor and passion. As with most films of this era, there's a generally happy ending all around! The film was nominated for six academy awards, and won one for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White!

Finishing our two-week review of gangster comedies, we turn to a 1991 film that was Sylvester Stallone's first foray into a non-action comedy, with the period farce, "Oscar!" Based on the stage play of the same name by Claude Magnier, and directed by none other than John Landis, the film star Stallone as Snaps Provolone, a successful gangster who promised his dying father (Kirk Douglas), on his deathbed, that he would give up crime and become respectable. The film spans only a single day, but so much happens during that day! Snaps is awoken by his "butler" Aldo (Peter Riergert, who steals every scene he's in) to meet with his accountant Anthony Rossano (Vincent Spano) who admits to being in love with Snap's daughter, and also of embezzling thousands of dollars. This is the day Snaps is planning on meeting with a local bank to become a member. He's also getting fitted for a new suit by the famous Finucci brothers (Martin Ferrero and Harry Shearer). Along the way, he has to deal with his daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei), his "other daughter" Theresa (Elizabeth Barondes), his wife Sofia (Ornella Muti), his linguistics instructor, Dr. Poole (Tim Curry), and his emotional bodyguard Connie (Chaz Palminteri). Add to that a rival crime family, an insolent maid, the police, and the press, and you have a true comedic farce! Plus, it's finally here: The trio reveal which two films have been selected for their 300th and 301st episodes!

Starting our two-week look at gangster comedies, we travel back to the year 1984 for one of the merriest homages to the gangster films of the 1930s and 40s, Johnny Dangerously! The film follows young Johnny Dangerously (Michael Keaton), a nice guy who's also a great mobster, working for mob boss Jocko Dundee (Peter Boyle). Johnny's brother, Tommy (Griffin Dunne) is the new District Attorney and hunting the infamous mobster Johnny Dangerously. Throw in Ma Kelly (Maureen Stapleton), sassy torch singer Lil Sheridan (Marilu Henner), and trigger-happy new Dundee mob muscle Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo) and you have the perfect recipe for humor, passion, violence, and "good" triumphing over evil! Also starring Dom DeLuise, Danny DeVito, Ron Carey, Ray Walston, Dick Butkus, and Alan Hale Jr.!

Rounding off our "Neo-Noir" pairing, we move ahead three years from our first film and turn to a film much truer to its film noir roots, a film that teamed director Roman Polanski, writer Robert Towne, and producer Robert Evans for a film that saw Jack Nicholson nominated for his fourth role in the "Best Actor" category. In 1974's classic "Chinatown," Nicholson plays J. J. Gittes, a successful Los Angeles private eye, who is hired by the wife of Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling) the head of the high-profile Chief Engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, on suspicion of infidelity. After concluding the case, he is met by Mulwray's actual wife, Evalyn (Faye Dunaway), who claims to know nothing about Gittes being hired to spy on her husband. When Hollis turns up dead, so begins an intricate cat-and-mouse game between J. J. and Evelyn that takes a series of unexpected twists and turns as the truth of entire conspiracy is slowly revealed, and it's more sordid than even Gittes expected! Also starring John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, and Roy Jenson. Plus, the Geeks and GIT disclose what two gangster comedies will fill their next pairing (with laughs, hopefully)!

We begin our pairing of what are known as "Neo-Noir" films ("Neo-Noir" meaning a re-imagining of the genre of film noir) with the film that netted star Jane Fonda her first Academy Award for Best Actress! Written by Andy and David E Lewis, and directed by Alan J. Pakula, it's 1971's thrilling who-dunnit, "Klute!" Starring Fonda as Bree Daniels, a call girl trying to get out of the life, and Donald Sutherland as John Klute, a private detective tasked with investigating the disappearance of Pennsylvania businessman Tom Gruneman (Robert Milli) by Gruneman's boss, Peter Cable (Charles Cioffi). Klute's path crosses with Daniels' when his investigation turns up a connection, and from that point on, their lives become ever-more intertwined as the killer begins to stalk Bree as well. Can Klute solve the case before Bree becomes the killer's next victim? Also starring Roy Scheider, Dorothy Tristan, Rita Gam, and Nathan George.

The second film in our pairing of classic Boris Karloff roles finds him once again paired with Bela Lugosi, although the roles are reversed from the previous film! Directed this time by Lew Landers, this film tells the story of renowned surgeon Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi) who is brought out of retirement to save the life of young Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) after a horrible automobile accident. Dr. Vollin becomes enamored of Jean, even though she has a fiancée, fellow doctor Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews) and an over-protective father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds). As it turns out, Dr. Vollin is something of an Edgar Allen Poe aficionado, and has re-created many of Poe's more famous torture devices as a sort of macabre hobby. When Edmond Bateman (Karloff), a wanted violent felon, shows up at his door and insists Vollin change his face so he won't be captured, Vollin agrees, but the surgery transforms Bateman into a grotesque creature, and Vollin uses the threat of not undoing the surgery to get Bateman to do his bidding. Love, lust, torture, and death fill the rest of the story, but the ending comes as no surprise. And the trio reveal which two neo-noir films will make up their next pairing!