Sixties rarity: The Day The Fish Came Out, 1967

There MAY be a more bizarre 1960s movie than THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT, unleashed in 1967, but I can hardly think of one, apart from THE TOUCHABLES in 1968, or JOANNA or HEROSTRATUS or LEO THE LAST or MYRA BRECKINRIDGE or BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS in 1969 ...

FISH is Michael Cacoyannis's followup to his huge hit ZORBA THE GREEK in 1965 - 20th Century Fox were hardly expecting the madly camp, if not gay, mishmash he produced next .... We were dazed by it at the time (it was taken off after two weeks and never seen again, until dvd arrived), as Candice Bergen in some bizarre outfits and pretty young Ian Ogilvy danced with the beautiful gay people on a Greek island, contaminated by some nuclear waste material dropped into the sea from a plane piloted by Tom Courtenay and Colin Blakely - who spend most of the time in their underwear as the pilots tried to hide, and the locals try to increase their tourism trade and anxious government officials try to cover up the disaster and locate the radioactive material .... Mikis Theodorakis adds another Greek score, and it is all delirious fun. 

Here is what we said some years ago: 

Life on a remote Greek island is forever changed when two atomic bombs are accidentally dropped in the sea there when a NATO plane flies overhead. This so-called comedy chronicles these changes. When the pilots Tom Courtenay and Colin Blakely realise they have lost their cargo, they bail out and land on the island - dressed throughout in their underwear - and try to get help without being found. The government has beaten them to the punch and has already sent an agent disguised as a resort developer. All of them are busy looking for the missing weapons when the island is suddenly filled with hedonistic tourists, all looking very gay, who believe the developer is going to build the best resort in the area. The locals are also overjoyed, thinking their quiet little village is finally going to be a tourist resort. When the Agean fish being to mysteriously die (hence the title?) everyone realises that the jig is up and so they give into their wildest desires...

add in Candice Bergen and lots of pretty unisex people, the pilots in their skimpy briefs and it all adds up to one pretty bizarre movie !

Surprise Package, 1960

The surprise is its terrible. This is one 1960 'comedy' that passed me by completely and never surfaced here at all in the last 50 or so years, so when I saw it was on dvd, I had to investigate ... particularly as it was filmed on the Greek island of Rhodes, at Lindos - a place I loved a few years ago and it looks just the same here. But WHY is it in black and white? if they were filming on a Greek island back then, surely they could have ran to colour? 

Stanley Donen had the oddest career directing movies - he is 91 now - I won't even mention SINGIN' IN THE RAIN or SEVEN BRIDES, as I don't care for them much, both very over-rated - but I love 1949's ON THE TOWN and his 1955 ITS ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, FUNNY FACE in 1957 and THE PAJAMA GAME, DAMN YANKEES in 1958 and also INDISCREET, then he did those 2 odd films with Yul Brynner: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING made in 1959 and released in 1960 after the death of its star Kay Kendall (who died in September 1959). Yul Brynner was the temperamental orchestra conductor and showed, as he does here in 1960, that while effective in epics and dramatic roles, he has no flair for comedy at all. 

Mitzi Gaynor is as delightful as ever - she had the misfortune to come along as musicals were dying out, but scored in THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS in 1954, in ANYTHING GOES, was one of the LES GIRLS in 1957 and probably peaked as Nellie Forbush in SOUTH PACIFIC in 1958. After that she did a forgettable David Niven comedy, this Donen misfire and another forgotten item in 1963 and that was the end of her movie career - fortunately she went into television and cabaret and had some great stage shows over the years, which are camp extravaganzas to see now on YouTube. 

Noel Coward is wonderful here even if he looks bored with the whole thing, He does have a good scene with Mitzi (in a ritzy dress) where they sing and dance the title song. He is the exiled King of Anatolia and Yul is the deported from the USA criminal. It is meant to be a comedy caper about Yul trying to steal the King's crown but is too tedious to go into detail about. Yul, Mitzi and Noel are the whole show here, and of course that Greek scenery - amusing to see Yul and Mitz on donkeys going up the hill to the town's fortress and ancient Greek temple with those great views ..... I did that in 2009. I dare say Donen, Yul and Mitzi had some talks about Kay Kendall as they had recently worked with her, and Noel knew her well too .... Coward had just finished OUR MAN IN HAVANA and had launched himself as a cabaret star in the USA. This film though has reams of dialogue in scenes that go on too long and have one itching to use the fast-forward ... which I did a few times. 

Donen went on to the agreeable THE GRASS IS GREENER and those 60s hits CHARADE, ARABESQUE, TWO FOR THE ROAD and BEDAZZLED (see Donen label), the rest of his output included the dreadful STAIRCASE in 1969 and some 70s misfires like LUCKY LADY and THE LITTLE PRINCE. But he gets trotted out occasionally to comment on his three with Audrey Hepburn or those great 50s musicals. SURPRISE PACKAGE though is one to forget. The dvd blurb hopefully describes it as a "delightful souffle" but zis ees one souffle that has collapsed and fallen flat. 

Stella, 1955

Melina Mercouri's first film (at the age of 35) STELLA, directed by Michael Cacoyannis, is an astonishing drama, a Greek version of CARMEN .... one watches fascinated as this tale of love and revenge builds to a stunning crescendo. 

Stella is a taverna singer who has romances but doesn't want to compromise and settle down. She hates the idea of marriage, particularly to a man who wants her to stay at home with babies and in fact lock her up. She is a restless, rebellious Greek woman who plays with men and enjoys her life as much as she can. But when she meets a young football player Mitso, things get complicated. He forces her to agree to their marriage and he and his mother fix the date, but Stella realises she cannot go through with it, despite knowing how the jealous Mitso will react. The stage is set for a Greek tragedy.

Melina is marvellous in the early scenes, fascinating all the men, whom we see doing those Greek dances and enjoying their masculine culture in the bars and taverns. Women are very much subordinate here - apart from free-living Stella. 
She tires of her current beau - Aleko - despite he having bought a piano for her; he later kills himself.. Once she and the sporty Mitso set eyes on each other, their passions erupt ...... We also get to know Stella's pals at the tavern, the girl who is jealous of her success with men and the older woman who tries to protect her. There is also a pertinent scene with Mitso's mother who makes it clear what her son expects in a wife and how it is best not to thwart him ... but Stella, like CARMEN will face her own destiny. Instead of going to her wedding she goes dancing with that 19 year old admirer dancing into a frenzy, as does Mitso back at the taverna .... 

George Foundas is Mitso - he was also in Cacoyannis's ZORBA THE GREEK where he also stabs the Greek widow (Irene Papas) whom his son killed himself over. 
STELLA was at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 where Mercouri met Jules Dassin whom she married - their NEVER ON SUNDAY was that sensation in 1960 and all their work was at least interesting. The vivid music score here is by Manos Hadjidakis. Cacoyannis went on to several other fascinating movies like THE TROJAN WOMEN and odd misfires like THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT in 1967 (Trash label), and of course the huge hit of ZORBA ...

This was the mercurial Mercouri's first cinema role and Melina (1920-1994) mesmerises here, as indeed she did in most of her roles: in NEVER ON SUNDAY, PHAEDRA, Dassin's LA LOI, TOPKAPI, 10.30 PM SUMMER and the rest. Check the Melina label for more reviews. 

As I mentioned in other posts, I had an afternoon with Melina back in 1968 when she led a march and demonstration in Trafalgar Square in London protesting about poverty in Biafra, Africa. I was an idealistic 22 year old and Melina led the march, resplendent in a long red dress and lots of gold chains. She of course became a Greek MP and campaigned for the return of those Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. 

Mary Renault: the history woman (and Nancy too...)

How nice to come across a full page feature on Mary Renault in the weekend papers .... as the writer of the article, Bettany Hughes, will be discussing Renault at the Hay Literary Festival (here in the UK) later this month. 

Renault (1905-1983), maybe rather forgotten now, was the author of those great historical novels which my generation grew up on: THE CHARIOTEER (an early 'gay interest' title, about two gay servicemen in the 1940s, it could not be published in America until 1959), THE KING MUST DIE, THE BULL FROM THE SEA, THE MASK OF APOLLO, THE PRAISE SINGER and in particular those novels about Alexander The Great, which I loved and read several times: FIRE FROM HEAVEN about the young Alexander and THE PERSIAN BOY ("one of the greatest historical novels ever written" capturing the ancient world completely) about when Alexander was Great and conquering the known world as he ventured into Persia and beyond. There was also a third novel FUNERAL GAMES about the aftermath of Alexander' death in 323 BC. She also wrote a non-fiction account of Alexander: THE NATURE OF ALEXANDER.

Renault herself was a fascinating character - one of those great novelists of my era, along with Patricia Highsmith, Iris Murdoch, Edna O'Brien and Muriel Spark. Renault was that rare thing: a happy lesbian with a lifelong relationship (with Julie Mullard - they moved to South Africa in 1949 where Renault wrote her novels, in a beach house called Delos)  - unlike Highsmith and her solitary life ending up alone in Europe. Renault died of cancer aged 78 in 1983. 

Mary Renault was a global best-seller with 8 Greek-themed historical novels, and six contemporary ones. Her real name was Eileen Mary Challans, born in 1905, in the London suburb of Forest Gate. How she developed that love and interest in the ancient world is astonishing. Luckily she got to Oxford where she was taught by JRR Tolkien.  She trained as a nurse and treated casualties in the Second World War where the sheltered graduate quickly learned of man's capacity for war and inhumanity.   

Her novels on same sex love are bold and dignified at a time when this kind of stuff was kept under wraps, and the certainly opened our eyes to the wonders of the ancient world, for which we thank her. 

Renault reminds me of that other well-known 1950s lesbian: journalist and writer Nancy Spain (1917-1964), a Roedean girl who became a prominent writer for the Sunday papers, was on TV a lot, and was friends with Marlene Dietrich among others. She was also pals with fellow broadcaster and "What's My Line?" game show veteran, that gruff 'confirmed bachelor' Gilbert Harding. Nancy and her girlfriend were killed when their plane crashed near Aintree racecourse on their way to the races in 1964, pity she didn't get to comment on the rest of the '60s. She was a high-living gal and was a lot of fun and just 46. Her pal Noel Coward wrote in his diary: "It is cruel that all that gaiety, intelligence and vitality should be snuffed out when so many bores and horrors are left living." I've just had to splurge out on Rose Collis's book "A Trouser Wearing Character" on Nancy and her era. Collis also wrote that delicious bography of Coral Brown: "This Effing Lady". One can read more about Nancy here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/out-and-about-in-an-innocent-age-1254529.html

Bank holiday fun: trash favourites revisited

A re-run of a 2011 feature I did on Trash Classic favourites:
Before we return to the art house and more middle-brow entertainment how about a look back at some of those Trash Classics reviewed here? Call them what you will: Bad Movies We Love, The Great Bad Movies, Cult Classics or Guilty Pleasures, there is still a whole lot of fun to be gleaned from re-running crazy flicks like:

MAMBO - 1954 meller set in Italy, where Shelley Winters (married to co-star Vittorio Gassman at the time) has the hots for Silvana Mangano, who dances up a storm. Shelley runs into a truck .... Directed by Robert Rossen for Ponti/De Laurentiis.

SYLVIA - Carroll Baker is the poetess investigated in this 1965 hoot by George Maharis for sleazy Peter Lawford, cue lots of cameos by Viveca Lindfors, Joanne Dru, Edmond O'Brien, Aldo Ray and a scary drag queen. Another Joe Levine classic.

LOVE HAS MANY FACES - the best of the Lana melodramas? Lana is glazed in Acaculpo, in 1966, with beach boy gigolos including Hugh O'Brien in speedos, while Ruth Roman pays for what she wants ..... the back-projected bull at the climax is a scream. We love 1960's PORTRAIT IN BLACK too of course.

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME - Shelley Winters again in this '64 sudser about a famous madam in 20s New York - the gals lounge around in evening dresses and make prostitution look easy

THE REVOLT OF MAMIE STOVER - Jane Russell, sensational, is the hard-boiled 'nightclub hostess' (think Donna Reed in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) buying up wartime Hawaii, while Agnes Moorehead is the even more hard-boiled blonde madam running that cat house ..... 1956 treat from Fox.

GO NAKED IN THE WORLD - Gina Lollobrigida is another high-living working girl, who also pays the price, in this 1960 expose - but Liz's BUTTERFIELD 8 got all the kudos.

THE PRODIGAL - the most hilarious of the biblicals, this 1955 one has Lana in the barely there outfits as the pagan priestess tormenting Edmund Purdom, who wrestles with a stuffed vulture, Lana takes a tumble when the slaves revolt ....

THE SINGING NUN - MGM must have thought another nun film would clean up in 1966 after Julie's success - this though is hilariously awful as Sister Debbie Reynolds plays her guitar and gives up wordly success to look after babies in Africa - see it and hoot.

WHERE LOVE HAS GONE - enjoyable tosh with Susan and Bette snarling at each other in 1964, camp probably doesn't get much better than this, with horrible fashions, no period detail and wooden male leads.

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS - this knows it is trash and all the better for it, THE trash classic? those girls Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke as Neely O'Hara, Sharon Tate, and Susan's Helen Lawson and that catfight in the ladies room ...... we cherish every awful wonderful moment.

A QUIET PLACE IN THE COUNTRY - as I say in my review (Trash label) "any film that begins with Franco Nero in his underwear tied to a chair while Vanessa Redgrave removes her panties and begins to chew his nipples can't be all bad ...." this 1968 arty euro-drek by respected Elio Petri is well worth a look. Franco and Vanessa are married now, I wonder if they look back at this and wonder at what they did for money in those crazy late 60s days ...

THE LOVE MACHINE - maybe the one I love to hate the most - this 1971 flick is an absolute scream: John Philip Law as the hollow heel, David Hemmings camping it up as the gay photographer (sending up BLOW-UP perhaps), Dyan Cannon yelling "fag" at everyone - more lurid trash from Jacqueline Suzann.

Of course there are also more 'guilty pleasures' I love like those Troy Donahue movies, WALK ON THE WILD SIDE and THE CARPETBAGGERS - movies which know and wallow in their trashiness, and those delirious sudsers like Anouk's JUSTINE and Susan Hayward's STOLEN HOURS, ADA, BACK STREET, I THANK A FOOL, and Romy's awful MY LOVER MY SON, and Burton's terrible BLUEBEARD, a howler from 1972 ... and 1959's sleazy NIGHT OF THE QUARTER MOON where Julie London has to prove in court that she is not a 'quadroon'. ....

and the two I despise: THE OSCAR and the Carroll Baker HARLOW. For me there is nothing to enjoy in these, they are made with such contempt for the audience, and the would-be sleaze is laughable. 
Then there is Keir Dullea as DE SADE a psychedelic sleazefest from A.I. in 1969 - luckily Lilli Palmer, Senta Berger and Anna Massey (as Senta's plainer sister De Sade has to marry...) are on hand. (The A.I. Christopher Jones films WILD IN THE STREETS and THREE IN THE ATTIC are genuine cult classics though, as per my reviews).

And a special word for the fabulous trash of THE FEMALE ANIMAL in 1957 where fading stars Hedy Lamarr and Jan Sterling battle over wooden hunk George Nader. George also pops up, as does the young John Gavin, in Universal's 1957 FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN, a delicious Hollywood saga (which I vaguely remember seeing as a kid) where 4 starlets are up for a great new role, they include Julia Adams, Gia Scala and Elsa Martinelli, also starring in '60s campfests MAROC 7 and THE TENTH VICTIM, another sizzler from Elio Petri.
Diana Dors (glowing in the dark) lights up the screen too in 1957's lurid thriller by John Farrow (Mia's dad) THE UNHOLY WIFE, Diana's first foray in Hollywood, with Rod Steiger. Read the full review at Dors label. 

I will have to return to 1967's THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT, possibly the most bizarre film of the era, from Michael Cacoyannis (after his hit ZORBA THE GREEK) where a radium bomb is on an army plane crashed near that Greek island, pilots Tom Courtenay and Colin Blakely spend the film in their underwear, as Candice Bergen and the beautiful people endlessly party, as the locals plan to make it a new Mykonos for the gay crowd, then the fish start dying ... and the army move in. Candice was also in the film of John Fowles' THE MAGUS, another Greek disaster - I couldn't bring myself to see it. 
We also can't forget Elizabeth Taylor's two for arty Joseph Losey: BOOM! and SECRET CEREMONY - of course these are 'misunderstood cult classics' now. (Liz, Burton and Losey were not happy about them when I saw them discussing them on stage in London in 1970).

MGM's take on beatniks THE SUBTERRANEANS, from Jack Kerouac, in 1960 isn't even amusingly awful enough to be camp, its just painfully bad, Caron and Peppard as the 'new bohemians' deserved better. Caron's role was black in the book but is, er, French here - maybe that was exotic enough back then!

Check out reviews on these and enjoy at Trash or labels on any of the above: Lana, Shelley, Susan, Debbie, Gina, Silvana, Vanessa, Franco, Anouk, Ruth, Elizabeth, Jan, Jean Sorel, Carroll Baker etc.

Italy or Greece? The talented Captain Corelli ...

Summer holiday time? Two stunning books - two (three, actually) very different films

Anthony Minghella expanded Patricia Highsmith's novel THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY for his 1999 film, while James Madden's scriptwriter Shawn Slovo filleted Louis de Bernieres' CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN ....

Finally, a look at CAPT CORELLI which I had refused to see so far, as I had heard how the book was changed for the 2001 film. Again, the heavy hand of Miramax (see 54 review, below) is evident - it all looks marvellous on that Greek island of Cephalonia, 
and after the wonderful SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1990s label, mind you thats mainly due to the perfect witty script by Tom Stoppard), John Madden seemed the right man to bring it to the screen. First the casting - the only real Greek among the leads seems to be the venerable Irene Papas, John Hurt though is ideal as the doctor - but Spanish Penelope Cruz is Pelagia (she is also Italian in that recent Woody Allen - is there a worldwide shortage of Greek or Italian actresses so a Spanish actress, terrific in Spanish movies, has to play these nationalities?) and Nicolas Cage has been widely seen as ill-cast here.

The film is set against the backdrop of war between the Germans and Italians on that Greek island; the Italian Captain is billeted with Dr Iannis and his daughter, as we see the initial idyll fall away as the grim realities of war intrude. We also get Christian Bale as Mandras, the fisherman son of Drousula (Papas) who goes to join the resistance - Mandras here though is not as vicious as in the book, and as for Carlo, one of the main voices of the novel, as he tell us his story of his secret love for Corelli.  In the film Carlo (Piero Maggio) is reduced to a minor character whose sole function is to sacrifice himself to save Corelli's life when the Germans retaliate .... his heart-breaking story is gone. Then the ending is fudged too - the Captain and Pelagia meet again when they are old in that marvellous ending in the book - in the movie he just walks back after the war and its no big deal - rather like this forgettable film. After this and THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL which I loathed with a vengance (in that one, as per my review, 2000s label, Madden inserted a gay character not in the book, only to kill him off when no longer needed, as the others continue to live in India), so we be giving Madden films a wide berth from now on.  So the great complex novel has been Miramaxed: been turned into a date movie with added war stuff and no depth at all - its a Greek travelogue like MAMMA MIA!. Pauline Kael talked of "the higher trash" and "the lower trash" - this travesty is lower with a vengance. 


Minghella's glossy adaptation of Highsmith's novel  is an engaging if slightly hollow noir thriller. New York wannabe Tom Ripley's life changes after he is sent to haul an errant playboy home from Italy. Matt Damon is suitably sinister in the lead and Jude Law gives a convincing performance as the wastrel playboy. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Marge, Dickie's girlfriend, who rightly never quite trusts Ripley ... 

So there was less of CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN in the film, but we get a lot more of THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY as Minghella expands on Highsmith's original, a book I first discovered as a teen, setting me up for a lifetime passion for Highsmith books, developing the characters played by Cate Blanchett and Jack Davenport, and creating a whole new ending and making a bigger movie out of it. The '50s locations are terrific, around Capri and the Amalfi coast, and the period feel is laid on with a trowel, as they wear those fussy '50s outfits, hats and gloves. But in the original PLEIN SOLEIL - which I have written about here several times, as per label, filmed in 1959 and released in 1960, they (Delon, Ronet, Laforet) look marvellous in those casual clothes of the time, which still look fashionable now, and the mediterranean feel is perfectly captured as it really was in Henri Decae's stunning colour photography. 

Jude Law of course made his name here as the glamorous Dickie Greenleaf - no wonder needy nerd Matt Damon wants not only him but to be him, as bored Dickie toys with him and then thinks he can get rid of him when he has had enough - that murder on the boat is brilliantly done, and a nice contrast to the Rene Clement version in PLEIN SOLEIL (PURPLE NOON), where Delon, Ronet and Marie Laforet's Marge are effortlessly glamorous. As if Dickie is not enough of a heel, Minghella invents the sub-plot of Dickie making a local girl pregnant, and who drowns herself - presumably so we don't feel too bad about him being killed off halfway through the film. It all gets very convoluted then with the Blanchett and Davenport characters. It was obviously a labour of love for Minghella, as per his published screenplay.

So, two books I like a lot (the Highsmith is very re-readable for a book published initially in the mid-50s) and two very different films. The Madden Miramax CORELLI is disposable Trash, but we like Minghella's as a different addition to the Ripley canon - while the Clement-Delon version is always there, and now on Blu-ray, thats another for the collection then ... 

The '80s - 2: some rarities

THE COMPETITION - a 1980 drama I had missed, despite my affection for Lee Remick. Its one of those movies that never surfaced since so I was pleased to finally get a copy. The movie centers on a piano competition whose winner is assured of success. It is Paul's last chance to compete, but newcomer Heidi may be a better pianist. Can romance be far away? Will she take a dive despite the pressure to win from her teacher, Greta, or will she condemn Paul to obscurity?
It began with my thinking that I could fast-forward a lot of this but it becomes totally compelling as we get to know the six contestants in a music competition in San Francisco - there is the Russian girl with a kidnap sub-plot, the good-looking Italian guy who thinks he can tap into the DeNiro-Pacino-Travolta market. We spent most time though with our two leads: Richard Dreyfuss as the cocky musician desperate to win, and Amy Irving, so it is all very 1980s with more big hair. Sam Wanamaker is good as the orchestra conductor, but the movie is totally stolen by Lee Remick, in the role of Amy's teacher. It is one of her best roles and she totally compelling here, as we await her next appearance. She is wise, witty, and more beautiful than ever as she sees her pupil Amy falling for Dreyfuss, and tries to advise her that he may be manipulating her to gain a competitive edge. 

Who wins? who loses? It is interestingly worked out, Joel Oliansky directs with a sure hand. Dreyfuss was very lucky indeed to be in 2 of the '70s biggest hits - he worked well with Spielberg in both JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS (my review is at '70s label), and of course AMERICAN GRAFFITI and also had that enormous success (and Best Actor Oscar) for THE GOODBYE GIRL (so very 1970s) when his mannerisms were becoming apparant. I found both him and his character (with that cap glued to his head) deeply unlikeable here, but it does not spoil the movie. The best I can say about him is that he plays an egocentric jerk to perfection ....

The music scenes are well handled too -  the actors must have rehearsed so that they could actually mimic the hand movements of a pianist. The overall score is by the splendid Lalo Schifrin. There is a theme song as well sung by Randy Crawford. Good as Irving and Dreyfuss are, it is Remick who scores here as the hard-nosed, totally serious, single-minded taskmaster who demands, and brings forth, the best from her pupil. Dreyfuss is driven and desperate but, while gifted, has never been able to break through as a serious musician, and who will be washed up if he does not win. He and Amy become romantically involved, much to Remick's dismay, only to find themselves competing head to head for the most coveted prize in their field. Can they work it out knowing that only one of them can win? A solid, well-crafted romantic drama then.  

Can't say the same for HIGH SEASON - which I was really looking forward to, due to good comments on it over at IMDB. This is a supposed comedy from 1987 about a disparate group on holiday and mixing with the natives in Rhodes, Greece. It is though an absolute snoozefest, which I could not bear. Top-lining are those '60s people Jacqueline Bissett and James Fox, we also have young Kenneth Branagh and Leslie Manville, both very annoying here (she was wonderful though in Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR recently, as per my review, 2000s label). The great Greek actress Irene Papas is also present, and again has too little to do.

Now I know Rhodes well, but writers Clare and Mark Peploe make nothing much of it here - the stunning village of Lindos (see my comments at Greece label) is not even well served here, it could be any old Greek village, we barely see the temple - and we don't even see the great medieval Rhodes Old Town! The plot too is too dreary to go into. So, not one I liked at all. Clare Peploe directs (she is married to Bernando Bertolucci) and her brother Mark has associations with Antonioni, having scripted THE PASSENGER - so art-house associations then, but no wonder this one sank without trace.

"An airline ticket to romantic places ..."

Freezing January and one's thoughts return to holidays in warmer climes and those interesting places still to visit: Taormina in Sicily with that Roman theatre, one of the most celebrated ruins in Italy (above), then there are Rome, Sorrento and Amalfi, postponed from last year due to knee injury. Taormina has been on my wish-list ever since I saw that Clarice Cliff "Taormina" china pattern (right). My late friend and partner Rory was the Clarice Cliff expert and had some ...
Will it now be possible too in the coming years to visit Leptis Magna that fascinating Roman ruin in Libya? (below)

Definitely planning a return to Lindos in Rhodes, and the fascinating Rhodes Old Town - my sister-in-law will love it. Lindos's acropolis with that view over the Mediterranean and perfect beach will be ideal for a stay there and it should be fascinating at night. (below)

I would like to return to Sweden too - Gothenburg was fascinating, and I must experience Stockholm and that Scandanavian culture...

Stockholm and Gothenburg

Also of course a return to the west of Ireland - Counties Kerry, Cork and Clare - that south-west tip, so accessible now with airports as opposed to those long journeys on trains and ferries. The two great beaches and seeing the wild Atlantic from the cliffs at Ballybunion does it for me (below) .... and its so near where I grew up and still visit. Its just across the Atlantic from Cape Cod or Maine.

Further afield, South America always beckons - I must eventually experience those magic names like Rio De Janeiro, Ipanema, Bahia, Lima, Machu Picchu, Bueonos Aires, Valpariso, Montevideo, Punta Del Este in Uruguay etc [no wonder I love Belmondo's THAT MAN FROM RIO]. Not to mention Egypt, India, USA (California and the west, New York and New England in the fall) and those magical Canadian names like Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Banff (all Joni Mitchell country) - a train across the Rockies perhaps ...