A lot is said these days about the so-called "independent films" and film makers. These are the guys and gals who look forlorn and studious and take their "art" very seriously. Some of us consider anything not made by MGM to be not serious film.

This film is a case in point. What separates the mediocre movie from the memorable one is ACTING. Great actors, be they from Hollywood or Hoboken, captivate you and bring you into the world they inhabit on screen. Some independent films have great acting, as do many Hollywood mainstream features. This particular film does not.

The lead actress, Kristine Blackport, was simply annoying. Her "little girl" voice and expressionless delivery was inadequate and did not suit the character she plays. Her supporting actors were equally wooden, particularly the earnest,caring boyfriend/psychiatrist and the naive and sugar-sweet best girlfriend.

The plot was well worn-the wronged female goes on a revenge spree with her 9mm semi-automatic handgun. All of this carefully planned out without missing a beat at her job. Oh, and she must make sure that the "bad guys" don't leave the earthly realm without knowing why. She makes sure that they hear her case against them with appropriate sneers and tears.

A new wrinkle: the killer/protagonist has an inoperable brain tumor and has 3-4 months to live. This, of course, makes everything all right. She's now a murderer for whom we MUST feel sympathy.

Unless you're really into revenge/vigilante flicks, I would give this one a pass. How many ways can you do the revenge plot and still keep it interesting and thought provoking?


I recently saw Juncture at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was completely blown away. I honestly had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. Juncture is the right combination of action, thriller, suspense and drama and it poses some very interesting moral questions. Lead lady Kristine Blackport (as Anna Carter)'s presence is unforgettable. The viewer experiences Anna's journey through the last few months of her life and what she chooses to do with that precious time. I laughed and cried with Anna. And the film definitely left me pondering about what I would do in a similar situation. It's always nice to see strong female characters presented in film. Excellent story and dialogue. Beautiful cinematography. Impressive acting. The music also was very strong and helped support the dramatic moments of the film. All in all, I highly recommend Juncture.


Beautifully shot, well performed film. Definitely worth watching.

I saw this movie at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The lead character, upon learning of her terminal diagnosis, systematically kills people who she thinks are "monsters": child molesters and the like. The story follows her deteriorating health and mental state as she tries to complete her kills before her time runs out. There were a couple of really great surprises and I loved the ending.

The filmmakers were at the screening and they took questions from the audience. Despite its large commercial feel, this is a truly independent movie (you wouldn't believe the budget if I told you) and it has a great message: What would you do if you only had three months to live?


I didn't know what to expect but this was a really great movie. I felt the pacing was good, the lead actress was engaging and the story had some unexpected twists. It is a daring story. The lead character is a murderer and yet I felt sympathy for her. I think the credit goes to the filmmakers for constructing such an intriguing story. It's controversial enough to make the lead character a murderer and a woman, but some of the targets could definitely raise some eyebrows depending on how one feels about the justice system.

I think if anyone gives this movie a 1 or thinks its bad is either lying or they didn't really watch it.

I thought it was more of a drama with some thriller elements, too. But otherwise, it delivered.

Overall- definitely worth watching.


Yes this movie really is as bad as a movie can be.

If someone was trying to make a loser of movie, I don't think they could have succeeded any better than this. The premise is old and tired. Also, revenge-filled,lead-females simply don't sell...look a Jodie Foster's movie, The Brave One...studios aren't touching this genre right now.

The cinematography is NOT good, many shots are out of focus including the opening where she is sitting on a park bench. A really difficult feat for a digital camera. But then, the out of focus shots keep on coming.

Then there is the audio. The lead actress speaks so softly compared to other people in the various scenes, it's as if there was no sound engineer on the set. At least, in post, they should have tried to normalize the conversations.

Next, the writing. OMG...did someone not think to get coverage on this script? Finally...the acting...some of it is pretty okay, but not the lead. Totally unbelievable...no emotion...no nothing...Sure, some of it can be attributed to the poor script, but didn't someone think to tell her to speak more clearly? I tried to watch it, but could only get through about 5 minutes before I couldn't take any more.


The film itself and the acting in the film were very good. The whole story idea behind it was very interesting and intriguing. The problem with the film was that the editing was not very good. By the editing not being good it affected the over all look of the film. The acting, directing, writing, and complete film were good. The editing killed the whole thing for me because it was too choppy and made it difficult to follow becase of all the weird splicing everywere. But besides that I'd give this film an 8, 10 being best.


"The World" is set in the tacky eponymous Beijing theme park and details the lives of the alienated young workers who are spiritually and physically trapped there. It's a subtle, delicate, yet powerful film with a directing style that can best described as artfully unobtrusive. The young director/writer is a master of composition, camera movement and sound. Some of the scenes unspool without editing for several minutes, the camera mostly still, sometimes moving with the action but never on the whim of the filmmaker. Sound and dialogue occur off-screen in a way that reminds one of the great Japanese director Ozu. (Indeed, one of the film's inter-titled chapters is called "Tokyo Story".

One of the best examples of this style is a grimy hotel room scene between the lead couple in which very little happens--an attempted seduction, but no sex--that is so authentic it feels almost voyeuristic to watch. In another scene, a father counts and pockets four stacks of money bestowed to him by the authorities for the accidental death of his son, his face an expressionless mask that hides more pain than could ever be shown. In an opening scene the camera tracks a female dancer running through a theatre backstage, pleading for a band aid she will never get--thus slyly presaging the untreatable tragedies that will eventually unfold.

The central characters are so alone, alienated and unable to communicate in any meaningful way--much of the dialogue is spoken into the ubiquitous cellphones--that the closest any two people come together are two woman--one Chinese, the other Russian--who don't speak a word of each other's language.

This is the best kind of social commentary a film can offer, images that show and don't tell. At times it feels plodding--especially the last half hour--some of the characters could use more development, and the animated cellphone sequences seem unnecessary and distracting. But the depiction of contemporary urban China's deepening social malaise--the result of far too rapid urbanization and unchecked Westernization--is troubling enough to make one fear the country's--and the world's--future.


While this film is radically different from Jia's earlier films it still packs the same cultural criticism wallop. A commentary on the urbanization of modern day China, Jia has moved into the slick world of government approved film-making without losing touch with the direction of his earlier films. It is tempting to watch the film superficially and dismiss it as a glossy state approved image. However, from my perspective, what is happening in the film is much more subtle; it is form of art-making that is particular to China and its authoritarian governing systems through history.

Practically speaking China has never enjoyed freedom of expression for its artists and writers. In order to get around censorship that came from absolute monarchies or dictatorships artists and writers would use subtle inter-textual messages. For instance, a line or radical would be left out a character to slightly change the meaning within the text. The head radical might be left out of a character describing the emperor to indicate the writers desire that the emperor be beheaded, or something along those lines. They were small enough messages that sympathizers would pick up on them, but a censor (censors usually not being the brightest or most creative people around) would miss it.

It is my opinion that Jia Zhangke is doing something along these lines with this film. It may not be as subtle as the messages have historically been, but a close reading clearly conveys something the government wouldn't be happy with. The Chinese government would like for the world to see them as metropolitan, glitzy, shiny, and new, so Jia, in this first film of his with government backing, uses cinema-scope, modern techno beats, computer animation and up-to-date electronics. But under the glitz is the reality screaming to get through the World Park facade. It is dirty and personal. There is prostitution, crime, and pirate copiers (maybe the theme here is modern Chinese society, as promoted by the government and big business, that is the pirated copy of the rest of the world). The subsistence living youth can all have cell phones, but for all their text messaging they don't seem to be able to communicate. Basically Jia seems to say that the Chinese youth are headed for a future of oblivion under the current direction of their country. It is hard to disagree with him. But at least he he leaves a morsel of hope in the end of it all.


Jia Zhangke's The World, his first state supported film, continues his look at the disillusionment of Chinese youth with Western-style globalization but shifts the setting from a rural to an urban environment. Young people work at Beijing's 114-acre "World Park", a sprawling Chinese Disneyland that displays scale models of famous landmarks such as The Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids of Egypt, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Taj Mahal, and The Vatican. For most of the low-paid employees, however, it is the closest they will ever come to seeing the world. Jointly produced by the Shanghai Film Group Corporation and Hong Kong's Xinghui Production Company, The World, unlike his previous independent work (Unknown Pleasures, Platform), has a big budget, glossy special effects, animation sequences, colorfully costumed song and dance routines, and uncharacteristic melodramatic plot contrivances.

The film's main protagonists are young Chinese who have come to the city from rural areas to find work at the theme park and come in contact with migrants, petty criminals, and other lowlife characters who seem to thrive in this consumer-centered environment. The plot consists of the turbulent love affair between a dancer named Tao (Zhao Tao) who performs in lavish shows at the park and a security guard named Taisheng (Chen Taisheng) who has trouble remaining faithful to her. Zhao Tao, who has appeared in other Jia films, is sparkling in her role as the dancer whose horizons become more and more constricted. When she tells him, 'You're my whole life.' he replies, 'You can't count on anyone these days. Don't think so much of me.' As critic David Walsh points out, "all the young people have great trouble expressing their emotions to one another; they prefer cell-phones and text messages. The picture of a terribly repressed and repressive society, with vast problems and contradictions, begins to emerge".

The employees live in overcrowded dorms or sleazy hotels and a group of Russian performers have their passports taken away when they arrive and some are forced to become prostitutes. In a heartbreaking sequence, Tao's brother Erxiao is arrested by the police for petty theft, and his brother, a construction worker known as "little sister", experiences a distressing industrial accident. Jia presents the world in small episodes, similar he says to the "way you use a computer-you click here, you click there, each time leading you to another location." The vignettes, however, did not come together for me as a totally satisfying experience and the animation effects seemed showy. The World has stunning visuals and relevant social commentary and I'm happy to see Jia achieve a wider audience by working through the system, but by the end of The World, I felt that the sharp edge of his previous films had been lost.


"The World (Shijie)" is one of the saddest films I've ever seen and is a moving visualization of the tragedy of rising expectations.

While it is set very particularly in China, it achingly proves the universality of the twin globalization pulls of modernization and immigration over the past three hundred years around the world, recalling films from "Hester Street" to "The Emigrants (Utvandrarna)," and films about cities in throes of developmental change, like "Atlantic City."

These are universally recognizable young people - they rebel against and yet feel tied to their families and regretfully break ties with old friends; they fight with their siblings but bail them out; they get lonely, a bit homesick, and bored; they are jealous and ambitious; and they constantly compromise, particularly the women bargaining with the oldest currency. With what is a bit heavy-handed symbolism, the film is specifically set in what I presume is a real amusement park called "The World" on the outskirts of Beijing that replicates landmarks in scaled miniature and focuses on the employees and their extended, inter-connected network of friends and family.

At first, they look to us as swaggering city sophisticates, as they dress-up in international costumes for a park revue, surrounded by emblems of international commercial culture, like fake Louis Vuitton bags and movie posters, such as of "Titanic," They jealously and zealously call each other constantly by the most modern cell phone and text messengers, particularly from the encircling monorail that at first seems like a symbol of modern technology, but is really cobbled together from airplane parts--though one woman wistfully notes that she doesn't know anyone who has been on a plane- a frequent response to a call is "I'm on the train." -- but by the end the canned voice of progress is emblematic of the dead end circularity of their lives as they can't get passports to leave, let alone to see the real landmarks.

Travel is a constant theme visually and of conversation - when a country bumpkin shows up, the surprised greeting is "How did you get here?" such that "I bought a ticket." is not self-evident. -- to the security guards riding camels around the fake pyramids and horses around the fake castles, to the six hour bus ride it takes to another city to pay off a relative's gambling debts, and emphasized through fanciful animated interstices. The ironic geographical headings of the chapters emphasize a character's quixotic goal -- "world.com", "Ulan Bator Evening," "Belleville", "Tokyo Story." Striving as they all are, for these folks even Ulan Bator, the depressed capital of Mongolia, looks like a step up.

There are moving scenes when immigrants with different languages try to communicate to share the commonalities in their lives -- a Russian immigrant is terrified when her passport is taken away, while the Chinese woman is envious that she even has one.

It is a bit confusing keeping up with the various characters, in and out of their work costumes, especially when the two main characters seemed to change so much without explanation, but they are enormously sympathetic so it is devastating as we see their hopes and dreams, however unrealistic or selfish, defeated. And those who succeed do so on very compromised terms.

They are also not very articulate, which writer/director Zhang Ke Jia compensates for by spending a lot of time slowly setting up individual scenes and watching people interact, as we see how different they are in different contexts with different people, as body language becomes more important than words, whether spoken or in text messages.

While the cinematography was beautiful, the print I saw in New York was a bit scratchy and the English subtitles had several misspellings. I'm sure subtitle-dependent viewers lose a lot of the significance of different accents and regional differences among the employees from all over China.


How can you truly show disconnection. I think I have truly seen a master in action with Shijie, a film that takes place in a world theme park (this place does really exist) in China.

Zhang Ke Jia is a masterful director. His use of colour and character direction is unreal. One of the things he uses to great effect are arches and hallways. Characters appear in them, or look out of them in what is some of the most visual photography I have ever witnessed. There is also a great conversation scene between two characters who don't share the same language, and the use of reflected light that is truly remarkable, make sure to watch for this scene. But it doesn't end there.

Zhang also does something so miraculous that I thought would be impossible. He borrows heavily from Ozu, particularly a scene that is reminiscent of Tokyo Story and makes something that is uniquely his own.

The basic synopsis of "The World", is of the lives of the workers in the theme park. Some romances develop, a foreign Russian worker Anna is introduced to the group even though she and another Chinese girl Tao don't share the same language. Everyday trials and tribulations happen for these young adults who are trying to work in the 'New China'.

Somehow though with all the issues involved, rural people coming into the cities, technological communication, the erosion of China's agrarian past, the fakeness of place, the exploitation of workers and lead up to prostitution, the camaraderie of friends, the cheapness of life.. somehow all of these themes are jumbled into a glorious presentation that you can't take your eyes off of.

The film is beyond surreal, its real setting makes it all more spectacular and that more effective. I had a hard time separating the actors from the characters, at times I thought I was watching a documentary and I prayed or hoped for someone to do well and be happy and find themselves thinking that these were real people in harsh sometimes difficult situations. "The World" has this effect on you, you can't begin to believe the beauty and harshness it shows, and it tricks you in the most crafty way.

The World is a truly fantastic small place in more ways than one...

Rating 9 out of 10


Though this movie is to some extent, demanding on the audience, a little patience and decent memory will leave you spellbound after the movie. I do warn that if you don't have the patience for books such as The Idiot, don't watch it. Otherwise, I'm sure it will be enjoyable. Jiangke takes the candor of Yasujiro Ozu's dramas and removes kindness, whimsicality, and love and replaces these with loneliness, harshness, and austerity. Powerful combination. The lead actress acts in a way that seems to forget that it's being filmed for a movie. The level of focus on her part is astounding to me. This is in fact true for the entire cast. The irony of the movie lies in its title: The World - a word that conveys a sense of endless possibility. What you get is quite the opposite - in fact the characters seem to be confined by such a level of endless impossibility that the throughout the film, I found myself fearing an imminent gunfight. That never came but the end is equally, if not, more shocking.


Few directors in any genre anywhere in the world have been able to capture the heart and true essence of a modern nation in just two short hours as Zhang has done with Shijie. After books like Ted Fishman's "China Inc." or Gordon Chang's "The Coming Collapse of China", this film arrives as a breath of fresh air sharing at a very personal level just how a rapidly changing China isn't always dealing with her 'prosperity' and globalization as easily as we would hope. The World is perhaps one of the best modern Asian films in years. We can only hope Zhang Ke Jia will continue to write, direct and interpret his homeland for us for years to come. Shijie is an emotional tour de force on modern China.


I come home late night, tired, sit in my sofa, turn on the TV & there is this Chinese movie. It has just started, I want to change the channel, but I don't do it. I am curious, cos I have never seen a Chinese movie before. & there is this opening scene with long tracking shot & I say WOW & I watch it to the end.

These have been the surprising 2 hours. This film is so great that it is hard to believe. Actually, it's not about some Chinese people doing their Chinese things in their China; It's about People in general. It is a film with a very UNIVERSAL approach to the very UNIVERSAL issues. The themes in this film are not limited in any particular space or national frontiers, they can be applied to any people of any country in the modern world. This film deals (at least tries to) with such common questions concerning the human lives as love, hatred, despair, pain, loneliness, death, friendship etc. With its level of the variety of these issues, I would compare it to MAGNOLIA, with the difference that WORLD probably goes deeper in the exploration of a human destination. To say briefly WORLD is about people on the planet Earth, about the complicated interactions of the ways of their dismal lives & about constant & incomprehensible feeling of sadness which covers our planet soaked within its thin layer of atmosphere. The film manages to be sad itself, using some nice & unidentified (for me) music. But the most surprising thing about WORLD is that it evokes some sad & beautiful emotions into viewer, & call it a cinematic trick or a cheap manipulation but the animated sequences are really great. They performed the condition of the characters' inner worlds, their diverse sensations evoked by the various messages they got on their cell phones.

Now to my favorite part: the techniques. Cinematography is great, very colorful, very tracking but slow, well executed. Lighting is OK, but could be done more professionally. Production design is strange, scenes are shot from very few angles, in some sequences there is only one single camera used, but since it contributes to entire film's not so dynamic & fast pace, it can be considered decent. Editing is by far the weakest point of the movie, I don't know whether it is cut on Avid or not, but it looks more like an amateur Moviola editing. As for acting, well to say frankly it was a little bit hard for me to follow the acting, cos these Chinese guys are so different & their mimics & ways of expression are not familiar to me.

As a result, I can say that cinema is being made in China & this cinema looks better than you can imagine.


If you want to get an aesthetic view on modern China, this is an excellent vehicle. Over two hours long, some scenes are poetic and subtle with an Eastern beauty lovely to behold. English sub-titles are well done.

A big screen experience of common workers from the countryside and the artistic dance community in the big city of Beijing.

There is a lot of smoking... and cell phone use, of course - this is the new China.

Some animation sequences provide creative transitions of scenes.

Not for the adrenaline junkie addicted to violence.

Excellent portrayal of relationships. A true artist behind the camera. The acting is so natural.

The backdrop and chapters are structured around the different national landmarks at the World Theme Park in Beijing.

( 8/10 )


It's not a hit movie, it will be a cult classic over time, like many of his other works. Poor folks want to watch "Who wants to become a millionaire" while the limo-democrats want to patronize the 'disadvantaged' by throwing other people's money at the government bureaucrats. But once in a while there comes along a true genius who comes from down below but with a true gift to show to the world what really is like down there in the real world. Jia is one such genius. He's the only Chinese writer director I truly feel proud of.

Only thing about the movie that is kinda disappointing is that I thought the ending of this movie actually betrayed the writer/director's unique style of low key and moderation/ showing something through nothing. To me the ending is really not necessary - I thought the real suffering is in the living not the dead. Maybe Jia ZK wanted to show us he can jerk tears as well if he likes to? Anyway, I was a bit disappointed by this ending really - or the death of the construction worker. Maybe Jia is the new China's Dickens. His movie language is disturbing and profound. What we see through his lens in China is not pretty, but real, excruciatingly real. China is often shown as the high rises in the city, or the shanty towns on the fringe, Jia is the gifted few who show everything else in between as what they really are - and that is the real China most people don't care to see or don't want to see. When you are stuck in between, you don't always get good choices...


A friend of mine says that his defining image of modern China is of a marble facade slapped onto a jerry-built wall; and it's this kind of picture that also emerges from 'The World', a touching movie about the lives of a group of workers in a Beijing theme park in which all the planet's tourist attractions are copied in a single location. Beautifully acted, the film provides an interesting insight into the patterns of behaviour of young Chinese; but the underlying tone is melancholic, and this flavour grows stronger as the story progresses; in some ways, it's a tale about the death of hope. But it's done with a light touch, some striking photography and some nicely realised animated interludes. I found it moving and subtle, and ultimately, very sad.


This was Errol Flynn's first film and it was made before he made it to Hollywood. This will be obvious to ANYONE once they begin viewing this terrible film. It was made in Australia and it looks more like a made for school video than a real movie intended for general release. Much of it is narrated documentary--including grainy stock film. There were also some reenacted moments concerning the Bounty and they have the same stilted and uninteresting quality you would expect for a non-theatrical release. How anyone might have seen this and seen any promise in Flynn is very doubtful--he is wooden and unengaging and only seen for a small portion of the "movie". It's amazing that only a very short time later he was acting in the fantastic movie Captain Blood! It just goes to show you that first impressions don't always mean anything!

This is one "forgotten" film that is best forgotten--it's only a curiosity for cinemaniacs (and VERY hard to find on video, but I've managed to buy a copy).


Errol Flynn in his autobiography said he never understood his popularity in westerns. He never felt he was suited for them in the way Johnny Wayne was (that's right, that's how he referred to the Duke), but that he went with the flow at Warner Brothers.

In addition to giving Flynn technicolor and his favorite leading lady Olivia DeHavilland, Warner Brothers gave him a script with an Indian attack, a wagon train, a saloon brawl, a cattle drive and the usual results when at the end of a cattle drive the cowboys start celebrating and one blazing railroad train. Lots of western clichés, but served up very well indeed.

Bruce Cabot the town boss of Dodge City and henchman Victory Jory make some big money in many ways by keeping the town as rough and wild as possible. These two guys are pretty standard villains for westerns, but they play it with style.

Since this was Flynn's first of eight westerns, Warner Brothers felt it necessary to explain his Aussie accent by saying he was an international soldier of fortune from Ireland. Later westerns wouldn't even bother.

The climax involves Flynn, DeHavilland, and Alan Hale in a burning railroad car shooting it out with the bad guys. You can see it a hundred times and still be thrilled with how our intrepid heroes deal with their situation.

Mention has been made before of the saloon brawl. Possibly one of the biggest filmed on screen. Stock footage was used from it for years in subsequent Warner Brothers films.

Olivia DeHavilland hated this when it was first being made. She was trying at the time to escape playing the crinoline heroine to Errol Flynn and other stars. In truth that's what she is here. She fought for and eventually got the roles worthy of her talents.

But she related on an interview I saw with her that she was at a revival of this and of Robin Hood and seeing both of them again some forty years later and commenting on how well the audience responded, she felt a pride in the work she did. As well she should.


This is one of the better old-time westerns because:

1 - It is a very fast-moving story. No lulls here. 2 - The hero of the story (Errol Flynn) is a very likable guy. 3 - The gorgeous Technicolor (not many color films made around this time) which looks even bolder and brighter on the DVD. 4 - The story sports a good combination of action, drama, romance and comedy. 5 - A very young Olivia de Havilland at her prettiest

This was one of the first westerns to feature a well-known actor, helping to give the genre a boost in reputation. Bruce Cabot and Victory Jory are credible as villains. Alan Hale is tolerable in his normal role as the buffoon. The only disappointment was Ann Sheridan, a beautiful woman who did not look as attractive in this film and had a role much smaller than one would believe from the billing she gets on the DVD back cover.


In 1866, Kansas, the American civil war has just finished and the armies disbanded. The building of the West begins, and in 1872, the new city of Dodge City is ruled by violence and shootings. The Irishman Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) is a man adapted to these days and presently is conducting a group of pioneers, including Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland) and her reckless brother, to Dodge City. Once in the city, Wade is invited to be the local sheriff, and an incident makes him accept the position. He tries to clean up the cattle town, ruled by the powerful outlaw Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang, with the support of the decent local people.

"Dodge City" is a western with an excellent pace. The athletic Errol Flynn is excellent in the role of a fair man, and Olivia de Havilland is very beautiful. The story has no plot point and is very conventional, but there are good scenes, such as the dispute between the future and the past, symbolized by the race between the train and the stagecoach and the fight in the saloon. I like, but I am not a great fan of western movies; however, "Dodge City" is a great entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dodge City"


Olivia de Havilland is really attractive here, fresh faced and brunette with big dark eyes. She looks so thoroughly American. Any normal man would want to throw himself at her feet, show her his bankbook and genealogical tree, and beg her to marry him. Marry -- not simply cohabit, because she's not that kind of girl. It's strange too that she look like an ex prom queen when in fact she was born in, where, Tokyo? And into a famous British family, responsible for the design of the superb DeHavilland "Mosquito" of World War Two fame.

Errol Flynn came from a professional family too. His father was a marine biologist and a professor in Tasmania. But you'd never know it from Flynn's personal history. His autobiography, "My Wicked Wicked Ways," is full of humorous anecdotes, although the best revelations must have been edited out.

(Eg., he owned a house on Mulholland Drive with a glass ceiling in the guest bedroom so that he and his friends could creep into the attic and laugh at the goings on.) He's an Irishman here with a brawling and rebellious past. It was the last movie in which they tried to explain his Brit accent to the audience.

The rest of the cast will look familiar to any Warners aficionado -- Frank McHugh, Ward Bond, Alan Hale, Big Boy Williams. There is a great fight scene, outrageously overdone, resulting in the near total destruction of a barn-like saloon. The brawlers smash through the wall into the meeting of the Lady's Temperance Society next door. And nobody even gets a bloody nose, no matter how many chairs have been smashed over his head. It isn't as comic as the saloon fight in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," but it's a big one and it IS funny.

The movie features Frank McHugh as an honest and courageous newspaper editor who is about to expose the chief heavy, who is by the way a complete stereotype with not a decent bone in his body. Victor Jory, a slimy henchman, comes into the office, threatens McHugh, and smashes him across the face with a small heavy whip. I wonder if Ford saw this before making "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence."

Come to think of it, before the fight scene, some ex-Union soldiers begin singing "Marching Through Georgia," which annoys the Confederate veterans who strike up, "Dixie." The two groups face off and sing at one another. The same sort of competition reappears in "Casablanca," under the same director, Michael Curtiz.

Flynn wears a broad-brimmed flat-topped cowboy hat. This must have been a liminal period for cowboy hats. Before then, cowboy hats were huge and round topped with a slight crease down the middle. Tom Mix wore such a hat in the 20s and John Wayne made a couple of Gower Gulch masterpieces wearing a fifty-gallon corker. Ten years after "Dodge City," cowboy hats came to resemble ordinary fedoras with smaller brims, sometimes twisted upward in odd ways, like a vaudeville comic's. A little bit of hat iconography there.

The plot's entirely conventional. The good guys versus the bad guys, with nothing in between. Well -- that's how the world is really put together, isn't it?

One bothersome thing. A careful historiographical search reveals that, the cast of characters in this movie notwithstanding, absolutely no cowboy has ever been named Wade, Matt, Cole, or Yancey. The historical record not only shows no evidence of the use of such names, but goes out of its way to emphatically deny their existence in the Old West.

Hadn't seen this for years but was able to relax and get a kick out of it.


Errol Flynn's British accent was showing big-time in this 1939 film but he made the most of it.

This is an exciting film dealing with western expansion following the Civil War. Michael Curtiz's expert directing along with a strong cast and great story make for one interesting film.

We have Bruce Cabot as usual playing a villain. He will purchase cattle but will kill the seller so as to avoid paying. The bodies begin to mount.

After a tragedy befalls a child whose father had been killed by the Cabot character, Flynn, a cattle dealer, decides to clean up the lawless town.

Earlier, we meet Olivia De Havilland with her irresponsible, reckless brother, played by a very young William Lundigan. When his drunken shooting causes a cattle stampede with death (including his own) and destruction ensuing, his sister (Olivia) despises Hatton (Flynn) for firing the shot that ultimately killed her brother.

Ann Sheridan plays a dance hall queen who will cover up for the brutal Cabot. Miss Sheridan's part is wasted here. She has little dialogue but does light up the screen by her singing and dancing.

As Flynn begins to clean up Dodge City, the arrests and shootings mount up to an exciting climax. A bar room brawl is memorably staged in the film.


I was really surprised that only 29 comments were posted for this movie. I rate it at 10, because all of the people in it were at their prime and beautiful....even the men. Backing-up the big stars, you'll see all the familiar faces that made the western movies so watchable. Ward Bond, et al, must have made as much money in residuals (they made SO MANY FILMS) as the headliners.

Erroll Flynn gets the job as sheriff (Wade Hatton) and does a good job in his role. The film's color shows-off his manliness, his acting was good. Olivia de Haviland ("Abbie Irving") is pretty-much window-dressing, having little opportunity to display her talents. She, too, was beautiful. Of course, this is one of those films where the leading-man gets his girl.

This is one of the early western films to be shot in Technicolor's, and was one of several TCM showed recently in their tribute to films starring Flynn and de Haviland. I guess younger watchers haven't seen this film....I didn't even know it existed.

It's importance is that after this film Ms. de Haviland began to let it be known she was very unhappy with the roles the studio was giving her. EVEREYONE was campaigning to appear in "Gone with the Wind" that same year - Ms. de Haviland knew where to go - right up to the boss' wife. She got the role she wanted, "Melanie", and finally got the opportunity to show what a great actress she was.

Director Michael Curtiz put scriptor Robert Buckner's story in an easy- to-follow movie - these early films are a joy to watch, simply because they have just this quality. I recommend for everyone.


Dodge City was one of the first westerns in color. Made in 1939, it had a lot of "staying power" I remember it being re-released in the middle fifties, with many people thinking they were seeing a new western. The beginning shows the train arriving in Dodge, racing a stagecoach. Progress is coming, but a couple of years later, it becomes a lawless town. Errol Flynn and his friends will fight to clean up the city. The saloon brawl is the best part of the film and was many times used as stock footage. I saw Dodge City several times, each time enjoying it in a different way. I used to consider it an exciting western, action packed, very violent. Nowadays it has aged, But Dodge City is part of the history of the western movies, and like that it should be looked upon.


This is a terrific Hollywood Western that surprisingly stars the Tasmanian, Errol Flynn. When I think of Western heroes, I generally DON'T think about them starring someone from "Down Under", but this really wasn't a problem. Flynn was just fine.

For me, part of the reason the film worked was its marvelous supporting cast. My favorite of Flynn's leading ladies, Olivia DeHavilland, is back and Flynn gets TWO side-kicks--Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. Frank McHugh plays a rather restrained (for McHugh) supporting role as a newspaper man--in probably one of his best performances. Bruce Cabot plays an excellent bad guy and there are many, many more Warner regulars that make this a star-studded and familiar type film. Oddly, you practically don't even notice Ann Sheridan despite her getting fourth billing--she sings nicely enough but doesn't have much to do in the film. In addition to all the stars, you can really tell Warner Brothers pulled out all the stops because they secured the directorial services of a Hollywood Heavyweight, Michael Curtiz AND they filmed the movie in Technicolor--a relatively rare thing for 1939.

The plot involves the widespread lawlessness that come to dominate life in this cattle town. When Flynn and his two buddies return to the town after a long absence, they are shocked to see that cattle tycoon Cabot has practically turned the town into his own private hellhole. The citizens live in terror and convince Flynn to become their new sheriff. There is so much more to the plot than that--including a subplot involving Miss DeHavilland and her brother. But, finding out how this all unfolds is something best left to you.

By the way, the very end of the film is one of the few instances where they obviously set it up for a sequel. Flynn gets a telegram after he cleans up Dodge City begging him to now do the same for Virginia City and he and Olivia and his friends all announce their intentions to head there. However, despite bringing back most of the exact same cast in the movie VIRGINIA CITY only one year later, is really isn't a sequel at all--just the same formula rearranged quite a bit! Miss DeHavilland is inexplicably absent and this time Errol and his pals are not Confederate war veterans but secret agents working for the dang Yankees!! It's really a shame it wasn't a sequel, as this followup film could have been a lot better if it had taken that route as its predecessor.

Finally, now that I think about it I did have one very, very minor quibble with the film. When I saw the child actor Bobs Watson in the film as "Harry Cole", I figured correctly that he was "dead meat". That's because this cute actor seemed to die in almost every film I've seen him in. His death scene in BOYS TOWN is almost legendary and he was also the cute little goner in ON BORROWED TIME--it seems his specialty was dying on film! So, when I see him, I know not to care much about him or I'll just have my heart broken in the end!!!


Although "Dodge City" is loosely based on the early career of Wyatt Earp, the main character, here called Wade Hatton, is an Irishman who has served as an officer with the British Army in India, taken part in a revolution in Cuba and fought with the Confederates during the American Civil War. That (apart from the Civil War part) might not seem like the typical curriculum vitae of a Wild West sheriff, but Errol Flynn's inability to put on a convincing American accent was presumably the reason why this particular sheriff could not be portrayed as an American. In fact, Flynn's accent does not seem very Irish either- he sounds more like an upper-class English gentleman- but the producers evidently thought that linguistic accuracy was less important in the context of the British Isles.

The plot is one that later became something of a cliché in the Western, so much so that Mel Brooks chose to satirise it in "Blazing Saddles", the one about the stranger in town who leads the townsfolk in their fight against a gang of villains. At the time the film is set, Dodge City was the West's leading cattle town, the main rail depot for shipping cattle back to the East, and Hatton is the leader of a group of cowboys who brings a herd into town. When he gets there he finds that the town is under the heel of a ruthless cattle baron named Jeff Surrett, a man whose hired thugs will not hesitate to kill anyone who crosses him, or even anyone to whom he owes money that he does not want to pay. There is nobody with the guts to stand up to Surrett or, for that matter, with the legal authority to do so, the town's last Sheriff having been kidnapped and run out of town by Surrett's men. The people see Hatton as brave and honest, and want him to accept office as their new Sheriff; he is at first reluctant to do so, but eventually accepts the challenge after a young child is killed in a brawl. The rest of the film tells of his fight to bring law and order to the town.

Although the film deals with the serious themes of murder, violence and law enforcement, it is surprisingly light in tone. There is a good deal of comic relief, such as the sub-plot about Hatton's hard-drinking friend Rusty, who finds himself getting involved as the only male member of an otherwise all-female temperance movement, and the singing duel between Confederates and Unionists which leads into the famous bar-room brawl scene, a scene which has been imitated in numerous Westerns ever since, and even in non-Westerns such as "Brannigan", a film set in London. Michael Curtiz was to repeat the idea of a singing duel a few years later in "Casablanca". By today's standards it is rather surprising that the Southerners are seen as the heroes and the Union cause identified with Surrett and the villains, but this was the era of "Gone with the Wind" when Hollywood tended to treat the Confederates as romantic rebels, if only because a film which treated them in any other way would have done no business anywhere south of Baltimore.

The film relies heavily on its star, being a typical Errol Flynn vehicle. Hatton is similar to many characters Flynn played during this part of his career (his Robin Hood is another example)- a man of action, debonair, dashing, brave and charming , a man who seems carefree on the outside but who underneath that exterior cares deeply about right and justice. He is also a romantic, and in this film (as in a number of others) Flynn's love interest is played by Olivia de Havilland. Hatton's romance with the beautiful Abbie gets off to a difficult start when he is forced to shoot her quarrelsome, drunken brother in self defence, but the course of true love soon starts to run more smoothly.

"Dodge City" perhaps lacks the depth of some of the truly great Westerns such as "Stagecoach" (which came out in the following year) or "High Noon" (which deals in a more serious way with a similar theme- a lone lawman's fight against a gang of outlaws), but it is nevertheless one of the most entertaining of all Westerns, with an excellent performance from one of the most charismatic stars of the era. 8/10


Errol Flynn rides to his first western in this Technicolor movie from 1939.Michael Curtiz' Dodge City is a fantastic western.Flynn plays Wade Hatton who has to safe the city where violence flourishes.It is ran by the villainous Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot).He runs the city with the ways of a dictator telling what to do and what to say.The citizens are helpless until Wade comes to safe the day.There is also a lady along.She's Abbie Irving, played by who else but the wonderful Olivia De Havilland.Soon there might be romance that flourishes.Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland work great together in this film as they always did.Whether they were in the Sherwood forest or in a western town, there was always chemistry between them.Bruce Cabot makes a fine villain.Alan Hale brings some comedy to the picture playing Rusty Hart.The brilliant Henry Travers is Dr.Irving.I must also mention the kid Bobs Watson, who plays Harry Cole.The scenes with him are the most moving in this film.I really enjoyed this western story.They should make more movies like this today.


In "Dodge City" Flynn and de Havilland make us forget they were ever Peter and Arabella or Robin and Marian. As Wade Hatton, Flynn is the softspoken - but strong- gentleman cowboy with manners and demeanor that would charm your great-grandma. I can understand why de Havilland was so unhappy with this assignment-her part is the generic love interest. HOWEVER..she gives it her all, delightful and believable as the intelligent, determined Abbie Irving, and she looks gorgeous. The scene between Flynn and de Havilland in the newspaper office has the spark we expect from these two great stars. Only complaint - not enough scenes of them together. And Flynn should have kissed her in the last scene when she agrees as a new bride to take the next wagon train west so he can clean up another lawless town. Alan Hale is terrific as Flynn's sidekick. Steiner's music is again stirringly beautiful. Sol Polito, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer, presents the viewer with the most beautifully photographed scenery and the wagon trains that took the pioneers west.

One should remember that the film is not the cliché others have pronounced it to be. What you see here is the original. Curtiz knew how to fill a screen with action.


Dodge City (1939): Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Bruce Cabot, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh, Anne Sheridan, Victor Jory, John Litel, Henry Travers, Henry O'Neill, William Lundigan, Bobs Watson, Guinn Williams, Gloria Holden, Georgia Cane, Douglas Fowley, Charles Halton, Ward Bond, Cora Whiterspoon, Russell Simpson, Monte Blue, Hank Bell, Clem Bevans, George Bloom, James Burke, Nat Carr, Horace B. Carpenter, Spencer Charters, Tom Chatterton, Richard Cramer, Jim Farley, Thurston Hall, Robert Homans, Vera Lewis, Milton Kibbee, Lilian Lawrence, Pat O'Malley, Henry Otho, Francis Sayles, Guy Wikerson....Director Michael Curtiz, Screenplay Robert Buckner.

The year 1939 was a big year for movies (Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Goodbye Mr. Chips) and this "Old West" film from director Michael Curtiz was but one of two of his films that were in theaters that year to great acclaim; the other being Private Lives of Elizabeth And Essex with Bette Davis. Errol Flynn had achieved Hollywood stardom with "Adventures of Robin Hood" opposite Olivia De Havilland, who was herself emerging as an actress. Hollywood at the onset of World War II was enamored of Flynn and De Havilland and they starred in various films together. In "Dodge City", we find ourselves in Kansas, 1866, right after the Civil War has ended. The small cattle town of Dodge City is a lawless, dangerous and unhappy place, controlled by a corrupt Sheriff (Bruce Cabot). It's up to our hero Errol Flynn (as Wade Hatton) to turn things around and save the day. Olivia De Havilland portrays his love interest, Abbie Irving, a beautiful and resourceful prairie-born-and-bred girl whose brother Joe (Frank McHugh) is reckless and is eventually killed by Wade. This puts a damper on the relationship between Wade and Abbie but after she takes a job as newspaper writer and spends more time with Wade, the two fall in love. Before long, the bad guy/guyss are defeated and Wade becomes the town's new mayor. This film is possibly bland and predictable next to other Westerns that have stood the test of time (Giant, Hondo, How The West Was Won) but it has some good aspects and was a beloved Western in its day. Filmed in Technicolor at a time when it was rare to see films in color, the cinematography (by Sol Polito who worked for Warner Bros and for Curtiz's films is very beautiful, owing to the fact it was filmed outdoors in Kansas-like landscapes and realistic-looking sets. The music is by Max Steiner, who worked like crazy on dozens of films for Warner Bros. This film represents a kind of flower of the Hollywood studio system, as far as Westerns. Errol Flynn is superb, Olivia De Havilland is lovely and there is enough action (train and stagecoach race, bar fights, gun duels, etc) to perfectly fit into a classic, high-calibre Western. If you enjoy Errol Flynn (he did his own stunts at a time when no one did) and Olivia De Havilland, this film is highly enjoyable. But despite the historic setting, you will not learn much about post-Civil War America. In fact, the whole thing suffers from stereotypes of the Old West: the vulgar but good-hearted saloon girl, the good cowboy vs the evil sheriff, etc. This is a film that was meant to take you back to the Old West purely for entertainment.


This is an under-appreciated Western, perhaps due to the unorthodox casting on a Tasmanian native as the lead. Nevertheless, Errol Flynn does a creditable job. With Guinn Big Boy Williams and Alan Hale supplying the comic sidekick roles, the movie moves along at a steady and enjoyable pace.

Flynn is the cowboy finally willing to clean up the town after the death of a boy. He gives the "enough is enough" line, and takes over. Olivia de Havilland is the love interest. Veteran movie baddies Bruce Cabot and Victor Jory are the villains. Frank McHugh adds charm to his role as a newspaper editor.

Director Michael Curtiz kept the movie well paced. The action is fast and plausible. Each time I see it I grow to enjoy it more.


This is a real western, with all of the needed ingredients in it but added to that are several Michael Curtiz elements, that make the movie entertaining and even somewhat adventurous, though its obviously not your average normal Errol Flynn/Michael Curtiz swashbuckling type of movie.

Westerns from the 30's and '40's were still much different than the later spaghetti-westerns. They were made more entertaining and had a completely different style. Most '40's westerns are even known to have a film-noir kind of atmosphere and feeling all over it. And despite being also always formulaic they yet always felt like something new and original. This movie also feels totally fresh, even though it features all of the formulaic elements, such as a saloon-fight, cattle-driving, card-playing, a hero who becomes sheriff, scruffy looking villains and stuff like that. The movie itself is extremely black and white and moralistic, in which bad is extremely bad and good is extremely good. If this movie was being made in the '60's or '70's, people would had uses laughed it off probably.

For the first 50 minutes absolutely nothing notable happens in the movie. It's not that the movie is boring to watch or without pace but it just aren't the most interesting and compelling 50 minutes of cinema. However when the movie starts to take form and Errol Flynn gets his sheriff-badge, the movie becomes interesting and also totally likable to watch. The movie gets even more pace and the action starts to hit the screen. It's the last hour of the movie that makes you realize that this is a real Michael Curtiz movie you're watching! Some of his trademark directing elements start to appear, such as the fantastic use of shadows!

Errol Flynn looks surprisingly in his element in the western genre. The role is more demanding than his usual swashbuckling type of role and he already sort of shows in this movie that he also knew how to act more seriously. He certainly doesn't look silly with a cowboy hat on! But yet he's above all of course still an hero in this movie, who does everything right, everyone respects and admire and whose clothes never get dirty. What I always like about Olivia de Havilland in her early movies is that despite being always the dame in distress, she yet is a strong and independent character. The love story (yet again) between the two doesn't feel like its slowing done the movie or distracts from the main-plot. It's well done and makes sure that it's never featured too prominently into the movie but it also at the same time doesn't make a redundant impression.

The movie itself is good and big looking. They obviously had some money for making this movie. It's shot in color, which provides the movie with some nice looking images. It also definitely makes sure that this movie doesn't feel as much outdated as with many other '30's and '40's, black & white westerns, is the case. The movie has some nice action moments but you shouldn't watch this movie expecting big and spectacular action. It's more a movie that relies on its script and the actors playing in it. The musical score by Max Steiner is also quite good. It's a well made and constructed movie, that I feel, deserves some more recognition.

It's not Michael Curtiz' only directed western but it's definitely his best known and most appreciated one. He made a total of 10 westerns in his career, of which 2 more with Errol Flynn starring in it, 3 more with Olivia de Havilland and even 1 with John Wayne in it!

A good and quality movie, that's very well worth watching, even if you're not familiar with the work of Errol Flynn or Michael Curtiz or are not at home in the '30's/'40's western type of movie.

8/10


The authentic definitive Hollywood film record for posterity of one of the two core dynamics which made/makes the American West: Post "Civil War" Northerners ["yankees"]-verses-Southerners, equals--"Westerners!"...What a stupendous clash of titans! (The other of the two fundamental dynamics was of course the "clash" with Native Americans ["Indians"].)...The same conflicts of culture, politics, "vision", bitterness/resentments/revenge--even language and religion (or the lack thereof) fermented before and during the "Civil War" were continued/extended to "the West" for at least 20 years following the close of the great "War Between the States", with that most famous of bar room brawls gloriously epitomising/personifying these very conflicts! A "must see" for any serious student of real American (especially Southern) History!


He'd already been a pirate and an outlaw for director Michael Curtiz, but in 1939 Errol Flynn was cast in the rather unexpected role of sheriff Wade Hatton in Dodge City, part of the western boom of 1939.

Dodge City is home to practically every western genre cliché in existence  cattle drives, covered wagons, lynch mobs, bar brawls and so on. It's been remarked that at the time these weren't clichés, they were fresh ideas. But that would be to forget pictures such as The Big Trail (1931), The Plainsman (1936), not to mention a host of silent westerns, in which all these typical goings on were well established. This isn't a criticism  after all genres are built on clichés, and there's no shame in that. Dodge City merely appears to have been intended as a kind of rough homage to the western rather than trying to take the genre anywhere new. These Flynn/De Havilland/Curtiz pictures were never meant to be anything more than simple fun. If you're casting Errol Flynn in his first western after audiences have accepted him as Robin Hood and Captain Blood, you're not going to make something like Stagecoach.

Having said all that, in spite of its lack of depth, Dodge City truly is a quintessential western in that its underlying theme is the most common idea that unites virtually every western ever made  the friction between the old and the new, and the forging of the American civilization. This is set up in the very first scene, in which a stagecoach and a steam train try to race each other. As the picture progresses, the point is made that the price of progress is lawlessness, and that the taming of the wilderness must be coupled with justice, education and order.

Dodge City also represents the high point (or should that be low point?) of Hays Code moralism in the western. At this time Hollywood was desperate to ensure the outlaws remained villains, and that no crime went without punishment, and this is one of the strongest statements of that. In his struggle to clean up the frontier town, Flynn is virtually a puritan, not to mention a strict authoritarian. The lines of good and evil are as stark as in any of his earlier adventures. The trouble is the western genre lacks the right feel that makes such fairytale ethics enjoyable. You can accept the hissable villain and dashing, perfect hero in an over-the-top swashbuckler movie, but in the old west setting they don't seem to work so well.

Errol Flynn would later play some great roles in westerns (for example, They Died with Their Boots On), but here he is really just playing Robin Hood in a Stetson, and only the vaguest attempt at an American accent (although, like Captain Blood, he's supposed to be an Irishman here, making his plummy English tones even more bizarre). Dodge City also features one of the weaker Alan Hale sidekick roles. He's a bit too much of a bumbling oaf for the majority of the picture, then suddenly becomes incredibly competent and authoritative out of the blue for action scenes. There are no real standout performances, and even great character actors like Henry Travers and Victor Jory are underused here.

Still, the Michael Curtiz mark of quality is definitely here. The big crowd shots are perfectly constructed as always. However the most breathtaking landscape shots appear to come from matt paintings, and Curtiz doesn't handle the wide open spaces of the west particularly well. For me the only real standout moment is a massive barroom brawl, with dozens of participants. Curtiz was great at handling these large scale action scenes, but none of the smaller stand-offs really get off the ground.

Dodge City is a certainly watchable film, but there are far better westerns from this period, not to mention far better Errol Flynn films.


Warner Bros pulled out all the stops to make this excellent western action classic which I rate 9 out of 10. One of the best parts of the movie was the greatest saloon fight ever filmed... which was all about... Hmm! I forget! One thing to convey to young movie fans is that most people who saw this movie on theaters --- it was re-issued more than once --- saw it in black & white with no hint it was ever in Technicolor. When this film was released in 1939, I was 8 months old, so I missed it. But in the late 1940's and throughout the 1950's, many Technicolor pictures, particularly from 20th Centory-Fox and Warner Bros, were re-issued in black and white --- all that rare and beautiful Technicolor work relegated to the ash can by Hollywood cheapskates. During the war years of 1941-45, Hollywood was tightly rationed on use of Technicolor, which was needed at the time by the war effort. But after the war, it's amazing that Hollywood czars like Darryl F. Zanuck would denude their movies of their Technicolor --- often using Technicolor previews as if to slap the faces of ticket buyers.


Having seen this movie again on TV, I realized how enjoyable it was - the casting of Errol Flynn and the gorgeous Olivia de Havilland is a major factor, for they both played their parts superbly. Action was non-stop, and the brawl scene is now remembered as one of the best in early movies. Westerns can be very boring, but not this one. The supporting cast was excellent, but I would have liked to see more made of the Ann Sheridan role - Victor Jory, of course, was a great villain, along with Bruce Cabot. Fiction of course, but a good story of the founding of a great western town.

Some of the cameo roles as played by Alan Hale, Guinn Williams, John Litel, William Lundigan and Douglas Fowley added to the fun, and I thought Henry Travers small role was a gem. It proved though what a great combination Errol & Olivia were, and would prove to be many times.


In Dodge City the legendary duet of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland is reunited once again under direction of Michael Curtiz after Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade and legendary Adventures of Robin Hood. The success of the last one was repeated by this remarkable western.

 Dodge City is one of many westerns inspired by life and deeds of legendary Wyatt Earp, who appears here under the name of Wade Hutton and is played by Errol Flynn. He comes to a cattle town run by Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabbot) and finds its population suffering from lawlessness of bands of wild cowboys who simply do whatever they like knowing there is nobody who's got guts to stop them. But it's only until Wade is elected a town's Marshal and takes matter in his fast and skillful hands. Very soon the town becomes one of the safest places in the west.

 Dodge City is a genuine classic featuring some of the most memorable sequences in the history of westerns, such as a spectacular saloon fight, many times imitated in later films but never surpassed. It also enjoys a good witty script and wonderful performances from Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland as well as from the rest of the cast. A pure joy to watch. 9/10


I honestly can't believe I sat though this laughable exercise in film-making. I honestly can't think of one thing to commend it. The closest is Ann Sheridan's first stage scene and that's saying a lot considering it lasted all of a couple of minutes. The whole time I was hoping that with such accomplished thespians as Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Victor Jory, Alan Hale (need I go on?), directed by Michael Curtiz no less, something, anything, would elevate this film. I guess I should have known better because with the opening sequence this one began to stink to high heaven. But I kept hoping...

OK, so what's wrong with it? Well it's an encyclopedia of clichés. I suspect the writers scoured every script out there, gathered all the worn-out clichés, and used every one of them in this film. Another way to look at it: if you want to know the worst clichés in moviedom don't look any farther than "Dodge City". They're all here a-plenty. What about character development you say? Well, what about it? This movie is made up of a series of one-dimensional characters with little or no depth whose motivations don't go much beyond those of five-year olds.

I could go on and on, find fault with just about every aspect of this film but you get the idea. This one was conceived and produced by five-year olds for five-year olds. Actually I can think of some five-year olds who would think it stupid so enough said.


In the lawless town of Dodge City, Errol Flynn stands up to murderous cattle boss Bruce Cabot and refuses to sell him his livestock. Soon he's the new sheriff and dead set on cleaning up the town, including Cabot and his cronies.

One's degree of enjoyment is entirely dependent on how much the viewer buys the casting of Flynn as a rough and tumble western hero. In my opinion, he was certainly handsome and charismatic but not entirely credible. I spent the whole movie trying to figure out what accent he was using! Still, I enjoyed the movie enough to recommend it.

Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams were great and stole nearly every scene they were in. The best part of the movie was the much ballyhoo'd saloon scene where Big Boy pretty much incites a riot!


No action star and very few actors in general can come close to being as big a star or fine an actor as Errol Flynn, that swashbuckling hero of so many classic films of the studio days. Indeed, everyone from Vin Diesel to Jason Statham seems to take a page out of his book and watching Flynn's films only makes you appreciate even more his talent.

Here, Flynn takes charge in a Western as sheriff of a seedy cattle town in dusty Kansas as he attempts to overthrow the corrupt cattle buyers that also run the town of Dodge City. At his side are his friends from the cattle drive, Rusty (Alan Hale) and Tex (Guinn Williams). Bruce Cabot is good as the antagonist Jeff Surett, but these kind of films are thin on plot and strong on lavish sets, costumes, and romance.

To provide that romance, we have the dashing Sheriff Wade Hatton and the lovely but stubborn Abbie Irving, played by the remarkably warm and beautiful Olivia de Havilland. She and Flynn made 9 films together, and it is obvious that they had chemistry as well as the ability to give us characters of people that we care about and want to see together. There may never be another movie couple like they. As for weaknesses, the story lags a bit in the middle, but it can be forgotten after watching an exciting climax featuring Flynn shooting it out on a burning train.

This film reminded me a lot of My Darling Clementine, the John Ford film from a few years later starring Henry Fonda. This isn't as strong, but it's more fun and a joyous ride all the way through. Flynn shows here what a charismatic and charming actor he was and it is a shame there will never be another like him.


"Dodge City, Kansas - 1872. Longhorn cattle center of the world and wide-open Babylon of the American frontier - packed with settlers, thieves and gunmen".

"Dodge City... rolling in wealth from the great Texas trail-herds... the town that knew no ethics but cash and killing".

Enter trail boss Wade Hatton, cunningly disguised as a dashing Errol Flynn........

Dodge City, an all action Western from start to finish, finds Errol Flynn {in his first Western outing} on tip top form. Based around the story of Wyatt Earp, Michael Curtiz's expensively assembled film charms as much today as it did to audiences back in 1939. All the genre staples are holding the piece together, dastardly villains, pretty gals, wagon train, cattle drive, iron horse, Civil War, shoot outs, fist fights and of course an heroic Sheriff. All neatly folded by the astute and impressive Curtiz. Aided by Sol Polito's fluid Technicolor enhanced photography, and Max Steiner's breezy score, Curtiz's set pieces shine as much as they enthral. A burning runaway train and the finest saloon brawl in cinema are the stand outs, but there are many other high points on which to hang the hat of praise.

Very much a male dominated film, it's with the ladies that Dodge City fails to reach greater heights. Olivia de Havilland, who is always a feast for the eyes in Technicolor, disliked her role as Abbie Irving, and it's not hard to see why. There is not much for her to get her teeth into, it's a simple role that demands nothing other than saying the lines and to look pretty. Ann Sheridan as Ruby Gilman gets the more sparky role, but she sadly doesn't get that much screen time. Which is a shame because what little there is of Sheridan is really rather great.

Those problems aside, it's with the guys that Dodge City is rightly remembered. Flynn attacks the role of Hatton with gusto and a glint in his eye. When he straps on the Sheriff badge for the first time it's akin to Clark Kent shredding his suit to become Superman. Yes it's that exciting. Bruce Cabot and Victor Jory are growly and great villains, while comedy relief comes in the fine form of side-kickers Alan Hale and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. Dodge City sets out to entertain, and entertain it does. In a year that saw other notable and lauded Westerns also released {Stagecoach, Jesse James and Destry Rides Again} give credit where credit is due, Dodge City deserves its place amongst those offerings. Most assuredly so as well. 8/10


After the end of the United States Civil War, the recovering nation turns to the building of the unsettled west. Handsome young Irish immigrant Errol Flynn (as Wade Hatton) arrives in Dodge City, Kansas, to help. But, cattleman Flynn finds the wealthy city is controlled by lawless Bruce Cabot (as Jeff Surrett), an old enemy. Due to Mr. Cabot's presence, a young boy is horrifically killed during one of the town's frequent shoot-ups; so, Flynn decides accept a Sheriff's position, and rid the town of its rats.

Beautiful Olivia de Havilland (as Abbie Irving) provides romantic interest, although Flynn gets off on the wrong foot by helping cause the death of her brother (William Lundigan). Saloon singer Ann Sheridan (as Ruby Gilman) and brawling Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (as Tex Baird) are among the others making fine impressions, in this richly produced Warner Brothers western. The direction (Michael Curtiz) and Technicolor cinematography (Sol Polito) combine for some outstanding scenes and images.

******** Dodge City (4/1/39) Michael Curtiz ~ Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Bruce Cabot, Ann Sheridan


"Dodge City" is Warner Bros.' action star Errol Flynn's attempt at the western genre. He portrays Wade Hatton, an adventurer who settles in Dodge City, Kansas and attempts to clean up the unruly city to make it safe for civilians who find the "cowtown" dangerous. Hatton's main antagonist is Jeff Surrett, a businessman who uses violence to achieve his aims. Hatton is ably assisted by his sidekick, Rusty (Alan Hale), who acts as deputy and backs up Hatton in all his fights, while he is sheriff and before. Wade has a contentious relationship with a woman, played by Olivia deHavilland. At first she does not like Hatton, blaming Wade for the death of her brother on a cattle drive but coming to love him when he shows his courage in opposing the men who make Dodge City a dangerous place to live. This film is directed by Michael Curtiz, one of Warners' top directors and top-billed by Flynn, a major star, bu this is only an average western, so it gets a grade of B-


Legendary Michael Curtiz directs a solid western. Faultless production and photography. Errol Flynn stars in his first western movie. Flynn plays Wade Hutton, a cattleman like the rest of Dodge City tired of being under the thumb of the ruthless Jeff Surrett(Bruce Cabot). Hutton becomes the Sheriff and with the help of Abbie Irving(Olivia de Havilland)and her newspaper tries to corral Surrett and his gang in order to bring some peace to town.

Others in the cast: Alan Hale, Victor Jory, Ann Sheridan, Frank McHugh, Ward Bond and Monte Blue. Flynn seems to not take the role very seriously even if he does wear the biggest hat. The script doesn't worry too much about his British accent; but Errol always brings with him self assuredness and healthy helping of aloofness. DODGE CITY was filmed in sunny California, mostly around Modesto and Frisco.


Coming off of swashbuckling successes Captain Blood and Robin Hood, it was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. sent Errol Flynn, Michael Curtiz and Olivia de Havilland out west for a formulaic but basically entertaining (if you can get past its dated charm) adventure in the saddle.

Sprawling duster packs everything into its 100 minute plus running time but an Indian raid. One wonders if they shot one but couldn't work it into the already bursting plot containing a wagon train, an epic saloon brawl, cattle stampede, gunfights and lynchings, and a perilous shootout aboard a burning train. Though the elements are glaringly contrived, the film still manages to generally pull them all together into an adequate whole, and there are some good comic moments and decent performances.

Errol Flynn looked far more at home with a sword than a six shooter, but, while not John Wayne, he's fine here as the goodguy cowpoke pressed into service as Sheriff when things in Dodge get a little too nasty. You can see where so many latter westerns from My Darling Clementine to Tombstone gleaned their inspiration.

Consummate 30's/40's badguy Bruce Cabot is on hand to make it a tough ride for Errol to maintain law and order and old standby Alan Hale Sr. provides some of the levity as his sidekick, Rusty. The romantic happy ending between Flynn and de Havilland too is never (of course) in doubt.

Except for Guinn Williams getting to be the centre of attention in one of moviedom's biggest saloon bust-ups, the film boasts no real surprises and is strictly one dimensional fare. But it gets the job done and is worth a look if you've never seen it.


I'd love to be able to say I love "Dodge City", but to be honest I can't. The film's got a lot going for it -- wisecracking script, bright colour, great music, and moments of sudden shocking darkness amid a generally easy-going plot -- but while it's pretty good, it isn't Errol Flynn's finest hour, and it isn't among the greatest Westerns either. Enjoy -- yes; love -- no.

This was Flynn's first Western, and he doesn't really look at home among the grizzled cast: he's too fair-skinned for that weatherbeaten crew, too well-groomed in a world of straggly facial hair (the trademark Flynn pencil moustache isn't really appropriate here), too neatly dressed to fit in with the rest of the town, and a somewhat self-conscious grin has a tendency to turn up at inappropriate moments (as he disclaims the role of Sheriff, for example), suggesting that he was not entirely certain of himself in the part. A whole-hearted flashing smile is in evidence for the comedy scenes, on the other hand, which are probably the film's strong point: a quality script is matched by Flynn's own natural aptitude for mischief, and by a transparently genuine bond between him, Alan Hale and Guinn Williams as a cheerful scene-stealing threesome.

Considered as a Western, "Dodge City" is admittedly a ripe collection of clichés, from the gold spike driven into the final sleeper to the cattle stampede, the villain threatening the crusading journalist, the lynch mob at the jail, the dance-hall queen, the poker game, the corrupt saloon owner, the horses galloping alongside the speeding train, the men clambering over its roof... the list goes on and on, with very little original in it save -- oddly enough -- for the involvement of Abigail Irving. The tragedy at the beginning that antagonises de Havilland's character from Flynn's is not out of the standard wagon train story, and the sequences where Abbie finds herself employment as a columnist in a newspaper office -- to the disapproval of Wade, of her uncle, and everyone else -- are among the most striking in the film.

It's odd, because this picture isn't an especially good vehicle for Olivia de Havilland; her character is completely wasted during the final showdown (despite being the only one to notice what is going on, she is used simply as a liability to the men), she has relatively little screen-time compared to the male trio, and with the exception of the newspaper-office scenes, the character has little to do save look pretty. It is to Miss de Havilland's credit that she manages to make as much of it as she does.

"Dodge City" doesn't boast a particularly complicated morality, a particularly nail-biting plot or a particularly rich set of characterisations. For all its Technicolor and A-list casting, it's at heart a B-movie writ large, from the era when Saturday-morning horse opera serials were standard fare and big-budget Westerns were just taking off: the next thirty years would produce some classics of the genre, but this isn't one of them. It's amiable enough, but Errol Flynn never looks quite right under a cowboy hat, and the part isn't really tailored to his strengths -- he and de Havilland would do better in their final 'Western' picture together, "They Died with their Boots On", as the arrogant, talented, colourful and insubordinate General Custer and Libby, his strong-minded wife.

To the viewer who likes Westerns, this is a glossy and entertaining example; to the viewer who likes Flynn, there is a sufficient dose of humour and romance. But I have to admit that this particular film probably isn't going to win over converts from those not already that way inclined.


Dodge City is a very entertaining and exciting western of 1939. A great year for movies. Errol Flynn plays Wade Hutton a cattle herd groupie turned suave, tough sheriff of Dodge City. When Wade is turned into a sheriff, exactly one hour into the movie, the action and story really picks up and the tone of the movie turns a bit serious. Errol Flynn is at his most heroic in this film. He's the savior of the town and hero when he takes the role as sheriff. He was pretty heroic in Robin Hood toward the Saxons, and he's just as heroic to the people of Dodge City. This film has some exciting action sequences, like the mammoth bar fight and the runaway train fire and shootout. Some great characters, good screenplay and witty dialouge makes this film for everyone to enjoy. There are though quite a few flaws. One is the tone of the movie. In the first hour this film plays out like a comedy/ western and then suddenly it turns into a drama/romantic/action western. The pace is uneven and at times it seems like your watching two different movies in one. Another problem in the film is the terrible color featured in the film. I think it was a mistake for filmmakers to color western films of the 1930's. The color lookes murky and very distorted and faded and is very hard on the eyes. Also featuring westerns in color seems to lose that classical fell to them, especially in the 30's. Some films just aren't made for color and westerns are those kind of films. But to sum it all up, Dodge City is slam bang action and exciement, that will definetly entertain. **1/2 out of ****.


As the newly founded Dodge City teems with violence and chaos, an Irishman reluctantly becomes Marshall and tries to tame the West in this standard but enjoyable and colorful Western. Flynn makes a dashing hero in his first Western, one of five films he made with de Havilland and Hale. Individually, he made nine films with de Havilland, 15 with Hale, and 12 with director Curtiz. de Havilland, looking lovely as always, plays the wholesome love interest. Sheridan is a saloon girl who warbles a song but is wasted in a small role. Cabot makes a slick villain while the supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Travers, Fowley, and Bond.


As a huge fan of the original Indiana Jones movies, I must admit that I did not take to liking the young Indiana Jones Chronicles when i first watched them at the age of 7. I saw them again for the first time since then around two years ago and i have been hooked ever since. I found these stories and tales of Jones as a young man fascinating and extremely enjoyable to behold. The way important characters in history such as Hemingway and even Al Capone are integrated into the plot as the young Indy finds himself in ever more exiting and elaborate situations should be enough to grab the attention of any self respecting Indy fan. Sean Pattrick Flannery did an amazing job as Indy and the many 'future stars' that played important roles in the ever changing plots showed the strength and distinction of these pieces of genius. I was saddened to find out that these mini-films were made over a decade ago and prey that some day, Harrison Ford and Sean Pattrick Flannery may be brought together again (as they did in the Chicago episode) and have another go at yet another piece of the Jones saga, before yet another unfamiliar actor is brought upon to don the cowboy hat once again. LONG LIVE INDY!!!


The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones is great. It was on TV before it went on to video. Its what got me into history for GCSE. I'm glad it's on video because they hardly put it on the telly. If you are a movie buff then you know George Lucas is the daddy of films and this just proves it. I'm a big fan of the movies and a big fan of the TV series. The episodes are like films, this series is truly great TV and Sean Patrick Flanery is a fantastic actor and I'm going to make sure he is going to be in my films. Also the action is great with some of the first every special effects on the TV thanks to Lucas Film. Also the first episode the Mexican revolution is great and is like A Fist Full of Dynamite. The Internet movie database could do better by sorting out which order the TV series goes in. Bruce


"The Adventures of the Young Indiana Jones" have every bit as much of the fun and excitement as the Indiana Jones movies.

Unless I am mistaken, I do believe that this episode, when aired on TV, began and ended with a segment featuring a very old Indiana Jones. On the DVD, this segment is missing.

In the final scene, the very old Indiana Jones is looking at an exhibit on the October Revolt, commenting that the exhibit was incorrect.

A museum employee, assuming that the old Indiana Jones is just an old fool who doesn't know what he's talking about, asked him what made him so sure that the picture was taken in July, vice October.

He replied "See that blurred smudge? That was me!"


Still working for French Intelligence, Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flannery) is dispatched to Austria where he must help it's beleaguered Emperor (Patrick Ryecart) make a deal with the Allies that could end the war. Later on in Russia, Indy is caught between his bosses at the Intelligence Service and a group of friends of his in the Bolshevik revolution...

The first story is a brilliant mix of both intrigue and action. Indy can only watch helplessly as the Austrian Emperor is pressured by a crafty diplomat (Christopher Lee) into lessening his demands on the German Kaiser, blunting the deal for peace. Trying to escape the country, Indy must outrun the Austrian secret police, led by the sinister Prussian (Joss Ackland in a wordless but still effective role). The last sequence on-board a train is especially thrilling and suspenseful.

In Russia, the script offers some solid insights into the workings of communism and revolutionaries, and Roger Sloman in a one-scene appearance gives an excellent reading of Lenin. The inevitable tragic finale is also very well-done.

More great stuff from Indiana Jones.


Never mind the title, this does not have much affinity with the famous French S&M movie, Histoire D'O. Instead, it is one of Franco's several movies inspired from and loosely based on Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir. This is quite unlike some of Franco's better known kitsch sleaze flicks. It is a deliberately slow-paced, minimalist piece of erotica. Yes, there are quite a lot of (soft-core) sex, three-some, lesbian, etc., scenes esp. in the first 2/3rds of the movie, and yet despite the presence of these skin scenes, the movie is a very uncommercial and personal effort. The victim's eventual descent into being a prey of the predatory aristocrats from cherishing a chance at free sex experience is very well executed and the final sado-orgy is terrifyingly nightmarish.


When Jess Franco adapts a De Sade story for the screen, he tends to put forth a good deal more effort than with the bulk of his other projects. JUSTINE, EUGENIE DE SADE, EUGENIE THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION, EROTISMO and LILIAN are among his very best works, both aesthetically and dramatically. It would seem that his connection with De Sade's writings - particularly those that concern the corruption of innocence (which is to say the majority of De Sade's work) - speak to Franco in a profound way. THE SEXUAL STORY OF O, which is another loose adaptation of De Sade's "Philosophy In The Bedroom", is no exception.

The film-making is first rate here. The widescreen camera-work is outstanding, complimented by beautiful looking people (except for the harrowing faces of the antagonists, whom you won't soon forget). The score is moody and affecting as well. I love the way his characters smoke cigarettes; they do it with a degree of style that makes it look appealing, and the way the serpentine smoke rises in symmetrical balance with the players' faces in the frame... amazing.

Be warned, however: The pacing is uncommonly deliberate, the level of erotica (simulated this time) is very high and very potent, and the violence - which isn't paraded throughout the narrative - is jarring and disturbing.

THE SEXUAL STORY OF O is, for my money, one of Franco's top 10 movies, and that's saying a lot since he made nearly 200 features. The title is obviously an attempt to cash in on the success of THE STORY OF O, but the film itself is nothing short of stunning. Frankly, it amazed me.


Odile(Alicia Príncipe) is a young woman just writhing with the desire of sexual embrace. It's only a matter of time before someone(..or multiple someones)would offer their services to her. Often freely sporting her naked flesh, soon a couple discover her from their own hotel bedroom and a sexual rendezvous will commence. What Odile doesn't expect when she takes up an offer to join the couple on a trip to an isolated island estate is the Count Von Karlstein(Daniel Katz)and Countess Wanda Von Karlstein(Carmen Carrión)a wealthy elite who are also into kinky sex with sado-masochistic tendencies. Odile's mistake in trusting in Mario's(Maura Ribera)'s bi-sexual wife(Mari Carmen Nieto)who is the culprit behind her seduction..what Odile does not realize is that when you travel down the road to passion and ecstasy, embracing the sexually free lifestyle she soon excepts with open arms, comes a dangerous price when associating yourself with the wrong person.

To be honest, I felt Jesús Franco's "Sexual Story of O" is ultimately about sexual awakening and the dangers of embracing a sexually free lifestyle with just anyone..often is the case, there are repercussions if you have passionate relations with just anyone. In Odile's case, she is "selected" by a woman searching for another without inhibitions or restrictions..some woman who is yearning for the touch of another, whether it be male or female. Odile lets her guard down, because of this attraction and free-spirited delight towards Mari Nieto's seductress. Franco successfully builds their scenes, starting with the eye-contact between Odile and Mario's wife, while we also see that Odile ogles Mario, from their hotel windows..an opportunity is presented, and we watch as Mario's wife makes the first move. Odile could very well turn her down, yet a heart-pounding desire inside both women drives them to accept the passion that awaits them. An three-way commences, as well as a heated lesbian encounter, where Mari Nieto's seductress enters Odile's room ready for action. The last portion of the film has us entering the world of the Count and Countess, where we see how Odile's life will be threatened when their masochistic appetites emerge. Mario, his wife & Odile meet them, there are dinners, and soon Odile is unconscious on a bed as others(Mario's wife and the Count)disrobe and molest her as the Countess looks on, so moved by what she sees that an act of masturbation soon begins. Franco's camera really likes to move in on characters' faces as sexual acts take place showing the pleasure of watching. My favorite sequence, the lesbian encounter in Odile's hotel room couch between her and Mario's wife..Franco's camera really moves in close and both actresses seem to be into the moment, especially a long kiss as their tongues slide and caress. I do feel that "Sexual Story of O" is just that..her sexual experiences which soon leads down a dangerous path.


WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS (though you may thank me for them later).

Just picked up an ex-rental and thought I'd offer a little review of this Jess Franco "classic." The box reads: "An aristocrat and his friends invite beautiful women to their home where they torture and rape them." Oooookay.

The film begins with a woman masturbating in a highrise apartment building. For the sake of simplicity, let's call her Masturbating Woman. Across the way, in another highrise, are a couple whom I gather are supposed to represent the Aristocrat and his Mistress, though it's hard to imagine an Aristocrat living in what is basically a pre-fab apartment complex. Whatever... Aristocrat and Mistress spot Masturbating Woman through their window and decide to have sex. Masturbating Woman also spots Aristocrat and Mistress and decides to continue masturbating. It is here that Franco displays his total command of the art of montage as he deftly cross-cuts between the two settings, treating us to a startling display of masturbating and fornicating that just goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth until the doorbell rings in Masturbating Woman's apartment, interrupting her bliss.

Masturbating Woman answers to find the Mistress standing there and the two decide to have sex. After a fair bit of lesbianism, Aristocrat himself joins the ladies for a threesome. Then Masturbating Woman leaves for no apparent reason and Aristocrat and Mistress decide to have sex in Masturbating Woman's apartment.

Later that day, Masturbating Woman and Mistress have sex again, though we are never quite sure in who's apartment. No doubt, Franco intended this in order to keep his audience disoriented, or else he just didn't have time to shoot any establishing scenes. No matter, because soon Aristocrat joins the ladies for yet another threesome, brilliantly mirroring the previous threesome scene.

Then the three take a boat ride across a lake to a country villa where resides a Stern-Looking Woman and, as we will later learn, a Wimpish Man. After some brief introductions, the foursome decide to have sex and it is during this scene (or perhaps a later sex scene - my memory fails me here so cut me some slack) that said Wimpish Man appears from behind a plate-glass window and proceeds to watch for a while. However, not content as a spectator, Wimpish Man soon joins in the action and after shooting his bolt, starts to cry for reasons known only to Franco.

Later, Aristocrat goes for a walk on the beach and meets Masturbating Woman. The two have sex in a field and in a subtle stroke of genius, Franco has us believe that the two have inexplicably fallen in love. As is the case whenever two people fall in love, Masturbating Woman returns to the villa for a nap while Aristocrat continues wandering aimlessly across the beach.

Back at the villa, Masturbating Woman is roused from her nap by the Mistress, who proceeds to stick a syringe in Masturbating Woman's arm. Masturbating Woman vehemently protests, but only verbally since any physical struggle would have required more camera setups than Franco had time to shoot. When Masturbating Woman awakens from her drug-induced slumber, her vision is obscured by gauze filters over the camera lens, but she can still distinguish the Mistress, Stern-Looking Woman and Wimpish Man, all of whom are now donning various S&M costumes. The Mistress then chains Masturbating Woman's wrists. Again, Masturbating Woman protests, but only verbally since any physical struggle would have interfered with Franco's epic 2-day shooting schedule.

Once Masturbating Woman has been falsely-secured, Wimpish man produces a miniature spiked ball and chain which he uses to supposedly whip Masturbating Woman, although every blow only manages to hit the mattress. This can be interpreted either as Franco's symbolic statement that all of our bodies are merely used mattresses with which to contain our souls, or else his non-existent FX budget didn't allow for the tearing of flesh. No matter though because soon the S&M freaks produce blood-drenched whips and proceed to lash Masturbating Woman's naked body, streaking it red with ketchup stains. This turns them on so much that Stern-Looking Woman kneels over the bed and begins stabbing Masturbating Woman repeatedly, which affords Wimpish Man the opportunity to mount Stern-Looking Woman from behind while the Mistress masturbates off to the side.

Meanwhile, Aristocrat returns from his aimless wandering and sees the S&M addicts in the process of killing the woman he apparently loves. Conveniently, he just happens to have a shotgun in his hands and immediately opens fire, killing everyone.

In a gut-wrenching grand finale, we see Aristocrat carrying Masturbating Woman's dead body into the sea as Franco's camera pans up to the sun, suggesting that the sun is hot and the water is cold and we will all die eventually. Fin.


Saw this at the Dead by Dawn film festival in Edinburgh and it was the best short film screened there this year in my opinion.

Essentially this is a one man show with Scott Graham alone with an evil mirror for much of the running time. While this doesn't sound particularly exciting, this growing feeling of paranoia and the increasing madness of the lone character propel the story.

Keep an eye on the video monitors that have been set up for the experiment, it's a small but very creepy touch.

Oculus is part 3 of a 9 part story. If Mike Flanagan can keep up this level of invention then I look forward to further entries.


My wife and I were lucky enough to happen upon a showing of this film at the Dragoncon film festival recently. I have been a huge fan of horror films and fiction since I was a young kid, and so did not expect to be remotely frightened by anything in the horror portion of the festival. I was almost right.

Mike Flanagan's outstanding film scared me more than anything that Hollywood has offered in many years. At the end of the 32 minutes that it ran, the audience let out an audible gasp because so many of us were holding out breaths. Any fright film fan will be thrilled to see that there are still truly gifted film makers out there who can scare the Hell out of you.

If you get a chance, see it. And when it becomes available on an anthology, buy it. You won't be disappointed.


THIS is what real inventive indie film-making is all about! Thanks to my connection to the horror review site KILLER REVIEWS.com (I'm a staff writer there), I had the privilege of finally seeing this. I'm still amazed at how much of it was based solely on building a sense of ever-increasing dread without so much as seeing a single limb hacked off and barely any blood at all!

Director Mike Flanagan reinforces the theory that still stands the test of time: it's not what you can see that really scares you, but what you CAN'T. Kudos as well to Scott Graham for a tremendous performance as a young man trying to solve the mystery of his parents' deaths and the connection the antique mirror (the focus of the story) has to what happened. No spoilers here, folks: if you haven't seen this yet at a local festival, hopefully you'll get the chance if this becomes part of a horror shorts collection in the future.

Mike Flanagan is definitely a director to watch, and Scott Graham is well on his way to following in the footsteps of great genre actors such as Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Campbell.

Outstanding first effort, and I hope to see MUCH more...


I was lucky enough to see this wonderful film at the Dead by Dawn Festival at the weekend. Oculus is a cheaply made film which is visible from the start. But that doesn't effect the impact this film has on an audience. An antique mirror with deadly powers is tracked down by a guy who's been researching into the deaths of the past people who have owned it. Setting up an experiment, consisting of several cameras, various alarms, a plant, a dog and a white sheet, he sets out to reveal the mysteries of the mirror once and for all. This short had some exceptional parts in it. *SPOILER* The mirror people bellowing out the sound of the alarm is so cool, the mirror ghost suddenly appearing when the lights flash scared the s***t out of me, and the mirror itself - for an everyday inanimate object really does strike a nerve. *END OF SPOILER* This film; considering its low budget, and its average acting is a very powerful film that produces some strange and interesting ideas. I would recommend anyone to see this short if they get the chance, and as its part 3, hopefully the i'll someday get the chance to see 1 and 2 - fingers crossed!


We saw this short at the DragonCon Film Festival in Atlanta. This is a great brooding short that builds. The creep factor is very high, and it's heightened by the fact that we can see what's happening, but the main character can't.

I thought the beeping alarm clocks were a little too loud and therefore a little irritating, but I'm guessing that was the desired effect. This also could have been due to the sound at the venue where we saw it. It wasn't a great room for movies, acoustic-wise.

The make-up was very good, and the special effects were nice and creepy. Kudos to the team that created this, and we are looking forward to more installations!