Sundown

Rating:
Summary: An Obscure Little Movie, but Interesting
Review: If not for the ravishing Gene Tierney, this movie would of, no doubt, been left on a dusty shelf to rot. The story leaves much to be desired--it is difficult to follow at best. Then along comes Gene Tierney and you lose track of what you were watching to drool over her beauty. By the time you turn your attentions back to the story itself, you're totally lost. At least, a lesser being like myself, will have that problem.

As one previous reviewer mentioned, there is a short gap in the movie leaving you wondering where the "Dutchman" came from (he just seems to have appeared from thin air, actually). You spend a few minutes trying to figure out what happened and the plot becomes even more jumbled. But, fear not--Miss Tierney returns and you are even more hopelessly lost, while "appreciating" her appearance.

I actually enjoyed this movie, and if I ever find time to see it again, I am sure the plot will be crystal clear, even to me. If you are a true "war movie" fan, like I am, you'll find this more akin to a "Flash Gordon" or "Captain Midnight" episode than real war. For the younger folks, those were very early (50's), cheaply made, TV "thriller" serials, rather corny, but nevertheless popular action adventure shows of the time. I had the feeling the whole time I watched "Sundown" that it was a weekly chapter from some series like one of those. "Tune in next week to see the next thrilling episode of Suuuuuundowwwwwwn." I kept expecting an Ovaltine commercial at any moment.

In all seriousness, the movie is entertaining and the transfer to DVD is very good considering the age of the film. A bit of background noise, but nothing serious. For the price, it is a great addition to any collection, if just for the novelty--and Gene Tierney, of course.

Try it!

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Programer, Efficiently Directed
Review: It's 1940 in East Africa at a small, isolated British outpost. There are rumors that the Germans are sending in rifles and machine guns, but this must be verified. If true, action must be taken to stop it, even though the outpost can only rely on its own resources. Bruce Cabot (as a Canadian) plays Crawford, the resident in charge. He's a man who loves Africa and sees many changes happening when Britain wins the war. George Sanders plays Coombes, a British officer flown in to take charge. He's by the book, but not beyond learning a few things from Crawford. Gene Tierney plays Zia, daughter of an Arab trader who owns a vast trading network throughout East Africa.

This is an efficient, better than average programer which is directed in a professional way and keeps the action going. There are no great surprises and many things typical of a movie of this type: The good natives are all handsome and child-like, all seem grateful for the wisdom and guidance given them by the Brits. The bad natives all look like they came from a gene pool where good looks weren't dominate. And the movie is careful to point out, first, that Zia is the daughter of an Arab and a European, so no black blood in her. Then when the romance between Zia and Crawford is confirmed, we learn that she's actually British so there's not even Arab blood (or French) to worry about.

The acting is fair, with Gene Tierney acceptable and gorgeous, Cabot stolid and brave, and Sanders condescending but trying to do the right thing. He has a great death scene, and I mean it; not a hint of the usual Sanders curled lip.

What a strange career George Sanders had. I really don't think he was a particularly good actor. He did a good job, in my view, only when he had a first-rate script and/or a sense of challenge. He was charmingly amoral in Rebecca, funny and even a little romantic in Foreign Correspondent, and very good as a single-minded, obsessed artist in The Moon and Sixpence. And that's about it, for me. His turn in All About Eve was funny to watch, but I often felt he was waiting for his next cue to sneer out his lines.

Dorothy Dandridge has a bit, uncredited, part that lasts all told probably less than five minutes at the start. She has no dialogue, and plays a shy young girl happy to wed a poor native soldier, then plays a heart-broken young widow. She was good, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

This is a solid programer with the faults of its time, but is professionally put together, moves at a brisk pace, and is a reasonable way to spend an hour and a half if you like 40's movies.

The DVD transfer is far better than I expected.

Rating:
Summary: A good British War Movie
Review: One of my favorite movies. Good restoration of audio and video. Will you like it? If you liked "Drums", "Charge of the Light Brigade", "Four Feathers", "Gunga Din", and "Zulu", you might want to give this a shot. Bruce Cabot is believable as the Colonial Administrator and George Sanders is just terrific.

Rating:
Summary: A good British War Movie
Review: One of my favorite movies. Good restoration of audio and video. Will you like it? If you liked "Drums", "Charge of the Light Brigade", "Four Feathers", "Gunga Din", and "Zulu", you might want to give this a shot. Bruce Cabot is believable as the Colonial Administrator and George Sanders is just terrific.

Rating:
Summary: A good British War Movie
Review: Poor Gene Tierney! After luring her away from the Broadway stage where she had scored in comedy roles, Hollywood proved at a loss as to how to showcase her acting talent. Accordingly, she was cast in a series of improbable roles in which her chief responsibility was to look ravishingly gorgeous. "Sundown", filmed while Tierney was still just 20 years old, is a prime example of how her acting abilities were wasted during her first couple of years in films. In this patriotic WWII action-adventure set in Africa, she plays an exotic half-caste caravan owner (later revealed to be British!) who helps the Allied forces keep the continent from becoming an Axis stronghold. The plot is confused and silly claptrap, but it's all beautifully photographed by Charles Lang (who would work with Tierney again on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" at Fox), excitingly scored by Miklos Rozsa ... and Tierney is indeed breathtakingly lovely in her midriff-baring costumes, which is reason enough to watch. (Also pay close attention to catch a very young Dorothy Dandridge in a small featured role!)

The VCI Home Video DVD is definitely the version of this movie to see. The original copyright had lapsed, and the film had fallen into the public domain. As a result, the marketplace was flooded with cheaply produced video copies transfered from grainy, washed-out multi-generational prints. The VCI DVD has been restored and digitally mastered, and the result is a sharp, crisp presentation offering excellent video contrast and vastly-improved sound that has been appropriately copyrighted by the archivists.

The DVD also offers a small, but well-chosen, stills gallery; a newly created video trailer; and well-written albeit flawed cast biographies (Tierney's actual birthdate is November 19, 1920, not November 20 as misreported by "The New York Times" ... and her first film was "The Return of Frank James", not "The Return of Jesse James"). There's also a bonus featurette of Ronald Colman, Angela Lansbury, and Nigel Bruce in the 1954 television adaptation of Somerset Maugham's story "A String of Beads" ... which has nothing at all to do with the feature film, but is a most welcome and entertaining surprise nonetheless. Overall, this edition is highly recommended for Tierney fans, and a fine example of the potential inherent in the DVD format.

Rating:
Summary: A Glowing, Restored SUNDOWN
Review: Poor Gene Tierney! After luring her away from the Broadway stage where she had scored in comedy roles, Hollywood proved at a loss as to how to showcase her acting talent. Accordingly, she was cast in a series of improbable roles in which her chief responsibility was to look ravishingly gorgeous. "Sundown", filmed while Tierney was still just 20 years old, is a prime example of how her acting abilities were wasted during her first couple of years in films. In this patriotic WWII action-adventure set in Africa, she plays an exotic half-caste caravan owner (later revealed to be British!) who helps the Allied forces keep the continent from becoming an Axis stronghold. The plot is confused and silly claptrap, but it's all beautifully photographed by Charles Lang (who would work with Tierney again on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" at Fox), excitingly scored by Miklos Rozsa ... and Tierney is indeed breathtakingly lovely in her midriff-baring costumes, which is reason enough to watch. (Also pay close attention to catch a very young Dorothy Dandridge in a small featured role!)

The VCI Home Video DVD is definitely the version of this movie to see. The original copyright had lapsed, and the film had fallen into the public domain. As a result, the marketplace was flooded with cheaply produced video copies transfered from grainy, washed-out multi-generational prints. The VCI DVD has been restored and digitally mastered, and the result is a sharp, crisp presentation offering excellent video contrast and vastly-improved sound that has been appropriately copyrighted by the archivists.

The DVD also offers a small, but well-chosen, stills gallery; a newly created video trailer; and well-written albeit flawed cast biographies (Tierney's actual birthdate is November 19, 1920, not November 20 as misreported by "The New York Times" ... and her first film was "The Return of Frank James", not "The Return of Jesse James"). There's also a bonus featurette of Ronald Colman, Angela Lansbury, and Nigel Bruce in the 1954 television adaptation of Somerset Maugham's story "A String of Beads" ... which has nothing at all to do with the feature film, but is a most welcome and entertaining surprise nonetheless. Overall, this edition is highly recommended for Tierney fans, and a fine example of the potential inherent in the DVD format.

Rating:
Summary: But it's missing a scene....
Review: The picture's been restored quality-wise, but a scene present on my otherwise poor quality videotape version is missing here: as the Italian prisoner demands an honor guard to take him to the stockade, the Dutchman arrives outside the bungalow and asks for water, which he dispenses to his native escort. In the dvd, the Italian's tirade ends abruptly and the Dutchman is just in front of the desk all of a sudden. Not much, I know, and probably not even 5 minutes, but it does add a sympathetic quality to the Dutchman which becomes important later.

Avoid the alleged trailer if you haven't seen the movie. It looks like the dvd producers just strung some scenes together to make a digest version of the film. The plot twists are given away.

I do like this movie very much, enough that the this dvd not being perfect annoys me.

Rating:
Summary: Classic WWII Adventure
Review: They did a nice job of restoring and putting this on DVD. Excerpts from the movie are shown in a window in the menu. A featurette "A String of Beads" is included. I thought the featurette was a bit slow but the movie is good. Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, and Harry Carey all give good performances in Sundown. The movie takes place in Africa during WWII. Bruce Cabot is the commander at a British outpost and he must contend with German gunrunners and rebellious tribes. Gene Tierny as a caravan trader and Harry Carey as a big game hunter come to his aid. If you enjoy older movies like Beau Geste or Casablanca you will probably enjoy this as well. The price makes it well worth owning if you collect classic movies.

Rating:
Summary: Classic WWII Adventure
Review: They did a nice job of restoring and putting this on DVD. Excerpts from the movie are shown in a window in the menu. A featurette "A String of Beads" is included. I thought the featurette was a bit slow but the movie is good. Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, and Harry Carey all give good performances in Sundown. The movie takes place in Africa during WWII. Bruce Cabot is the commander at a British outpost and he must contend with German gunrunners and rebellious tribes. Gene Tierny as a caravan trader and Harry Carey as a big game hunter come to his aid. If you enjoy older movies like Beau Geste or Casablanca you will probably enjoy this as well. The price makes it well worth owning if you collect classic movies.