A New Leaf (1971)

Click to watch the movie via YouTube


This is a classic example of the great quirky comedies of the late 60s early 70s that America use to do so well. Its at times snarky yet is utterly sweet. When it isn't side splitting it has the "awww" tendency without being sentimental.

Walter Matthau is so ridiculously perfect in this role as an overgrown trust fund baby who faces either suicide instead of poverty or better yet earn money the old fashion way, marriage and murder. Elaine May is his intended bride/victim as a beyond shy and awkard sweet tempered horticulturalist. She believes or you might say is so naive that she is so blindly trusting of pretty much anyone who shows her interest or works for her. Of course she accepts his proposal of marriage after a few days of knowing each other even though he secretly is repulsed by her.  A greedy lawyer and her lazy greedy house staff have been taking her for a ride for years. In a wonderful scene you see Mattahu "clean up house".

Soon they are experiencing their own version of martial bliss. Mattahu comes to realize its not exactly bliss for him though. He starts taking care of the finacial responsibilites which in the start of this film is something he never did and caused him to marry May. Besides that its a full time job taking care of the clumsy crumb ridden May even with his butler's help. Thus, he tries to murder her but fails and becomes sentimental due to the fact she named a newly discovered fern after him that happens to be next to the river that he tried to drown her in just moments before. Saving May it dawns to him and the audience that being married and taking care of her will be his life sentence.

Sidenotes -

At times this reminded me of Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdeux. A man who is so desperate for money that he thinks nothing of marrying and killing for money. Unlike Verdeux its not loosely based on a real person.Instead this was originally a play. The original unreleased film was three hrs long though butchered due to Robert Evans. Its hard for me to imagine this as a film that could even be two hours long since anything more would lessen the impact of the film.


One of my absolute favorite lines from this was an awkard party scene where Matthau earnestly asks a couple after overhearing their name,

"Excuse me, you're not by any chance related to the Boston Hitlers?"


Bottom Line -

Fans of silly and sweet comedies, non traditional "romance", Walter Mattahu or Elaine May, or early 1970s films would most likely fall in love with this film.

Rhinoceros (1974)

Yet again Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are paired yet again in zany roles in an even zanier plot. Yet its mood doesn't end as a comedy. If you loved them in The Producers I think you'll be more than amused by them in this long forgotten film. The screenplay is based on the master of absurdism Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros. A few years back I read the play. The dialogue was still pretty much intact and the setting was changed to an Americanized city. Yet, it just didn't seem to be the same play that was an allegory for nazism though it still is essentially about blindless conformity. I have a feeling that this film is nowhere near the level it was as a play. perhaps this could have really flourished with a better director who didn't feel the need to dumb down for quick laughs.


In a way this is an oddly charming film. It looks exactly what we think of 1974 yet this has its closest moments to vaudeville simply because of how physical, wacky, and absurd it is. Of course this is all intentional. it darkens and at the end feels bleak. Wilder is the anti-hero, the hapless man prone to too much booze and weariness. Mostel the boorish friend who is concerned about his friend's behavior and too concerned by what others think. Karen Black the "love interest" is sweet and likeable but is not that important to the plot. What is important is the fact that everyone seems to be morphing into rhinoceros for no apparent reason. Personally, I enjoyed how you never get to see any actual rhinoceros except for Mostel's metamorphosis which just relies on his acting ability.


Bottom Line -
This film is at times fun and silly but has a bold important message. For those who don't want to have to think while watching a film and have everything spoon fed don't watch this. If you love Gene Wilder or Zero Mostel, films from the 1970s, or absurdism you may enjoy this.

Available on Netflix.

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Click to watch the movie via YouTube


This post is dedicated to Leslie Nielsen who passed away yesterday.

Bram Stoker meets Mel Brooks and Dracula was never quite the same. This is a typical Brooks movie that will keep you in stitches with its sheer silliness, a tad risque without being vulgar, and acted perfectly. Nielsen was perfect as the lothario vampire who at times was a bit prone to pratfalls. Almost every single cast member steals the show at one point or another. Brooks in what I would call his most reserved performance in one of his own films still gave a cheeky wink to the audience. A very fun and at times quotable movie. The type of movie that you should watch with a crowd since it'll just make the film more enjoyable.


Bottom Line -
Since it is the same old Dracula plot that's been done so many times I won't waste our time going through it. A must see for fans of Mel Brooks, classic silly comedies, or vampire.


I always thought Mel Brooks should have made one last monster film of yore either a werewolf or mummy movie to round out Dracula: Dead and Loving It and Young Frankenstein. Couldn't you just imagine the lovely Madeline Kahn pointing, shrieking and fleeing from a werewolf or zombie?

First Post

As someone who rolls their eyes practically to the back of their heads at the pathetic garbage they call films nowadays (at least in America) hopefully this will be of interest to fellow film buffs, those who are curious to broaden their horizons, or those who just want someone to talk to about a long forgotten film that they adore.

I am just a girl who enjoys old and rare films. Perhaps someday I'll even help to preserve those poor little silent films deteriorating in a long forgotten canister. Until that day comes I'll be writing on this blog. I'll try to write a movie a day but will see how that goes since I have the attention span of a Magpie.


One last note, hopefully you can overlook my grammar, run on sentences, and so on and see that what I write comes from the heart.

I have decided also to include backstory of the making of the films and the people involved if it seems to be of interest or amusing trivia.