As Good As It Gets is definitely one of the best movies I've seen. This movie depends entirely on it's script and the performance of it's actors, and both were excellent.

If there are people out there who doubt Jack Nicholson acting capabilities, I'd advise them to see this film. The way in which he portrays his character, a lonely and on the surface mean man suffering from OCD is just brilliant. The character was so real, and I really grew to like him during the movie.

And then there's Helen Hunt, I don't care what other people say, she is a great actress and people who say she's not feminine are just plain crazy. I do not think she's the beautiful, but when you watch this movie, how can you not fall in love with her character? To me that is the proof she's is a great actress.

And then there is Greg Kinnear, who also does a great job. This movie is just full of great performances.

The story is funny, dramatic and romantic, it's got it all. The characters are so well written that they feel real, and I like them so much, that I wish they were. The dialogues are great and there is a lot I will not soon forget.

***** Spoiler (start)***** Melvin Udall: Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here.

There are so many great scenes; Melvin and his interaction with the dog, and when he realizes he has stepped over the line by talking about carol's son. I also like his relationship with Simon, you can see him wrestling with the fact that he actually likes him. ***** Spoiler (finish)*****

I'd advise this movie to every serious movie fan. For in my opinion; This movie is As Good As Movies Get


A wonderful tale of an obsessive, compulsive writer, who's life is forever changed by three things, a waitress, a gay artist, and a little dog.

Absolutely fantastic! "As Good As It Gets" is one of the finest films I've ever seen. From the excellent acting, to the superb directing, "AGAIG" is a truly unforgettable film. One of those rare films that only come out once in a blue moon.

The acting is nothing short of amazing! Jack Nicholson who plays Melvin, deserved the Oscar for his role. As did Helen Hunt as Carol the Waitress. And the directing is wonderfully done by James L. Brooks, (Fans of The Simpsons, may recognize that name, as he's the Executive Producer.) Not to mention the fabulous writing also done by Brooks!

"As Good As It Gets" is a must see! It's a shame that it was only nominated for Best Picture in 1997, it lost out to some movie about a sinking ship, directed by the guy who made "Terminator 2".

The title says it all in this rare and wonderful film; As Good As It Gets!

***** Out of Five Stars (Outstanding!)


The title is probably the most spot on title you'll hear. This movie is as good as it gets. This movie has flawless performances by Nicholson, Hunt, Kinnear, Knight, and Gooding Jr. The movie has a script that is so good it rivals scripts like American Beauty. As Good As It Gets is my second favorite movie of all time, just behind Jerry Maguire. That doesn't mean that it's the second BEST I've seen, but it certainly was the best film of the year, especially in a tough year. The Oscars were right on giving Nicholson and Hunt awards, I wish Kinnear had won. All in all this is a solid 10/10 film with it's charming humor and the times where you just want to hug yourself with delight. I recommend this to all film lovers.


This is definetly one of my favorites ever! How anyone could say the characters were poorly developed is beyond me! The entire base of this movie was developing its characters! Without that there would have been nothing to watch at all. It was well written and funny too. I loved it, personally.


This is the movie I´ll never get tired of watching. I think it´s perfect! Incredible dialogues to match incredible characters/actors. The cast is just perfect! There´s no possible remake of this movie! No one can replace Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall or Helen Hunt as "Carol, the waitress" or any of the others for that matter! Like I said it´s perfect!


No hot models. No action heros. No 'sappy' unrealistic love story. No intricate plot with twists and turns. Just arguably the best movie of 1997.

How? Great acting and a great story. Sounds too simple?

Basically, they took some odd, flawed characters that have little to do with each other, and make a great movie by bringing them together through some very unique circumstances and poking fun at all of them, but bringing you closer to them as you go. Character development is a large part of the movie.

I laughed at several scenes and felt moved in others. The funny scenes weren't corny and the heart-warming scenes weren't sappy. This movie is different than the normal movie, which is a big plus. The cast and their acting makes it all work. Probably the best all-around movie of 1997 in my opinion.


Gypo (offensive slang for 'Gypsy') is a film that connects with the audience on the issue of racial tensions in a way that few films can. It does so by use of great British talent but more controversially using the 'Dogme' stylistic method of film-making. It explodes myths about refugees and exposes attitudes that need to be dealt with. It tells three sides to the same story, each with an equal intensity, and makes us care.

The Dogme experiment was invented as a backlash tool against the formulaic approach of Hollywood movies where anything can be 'made' to look real given enough money and special effects to trick the audience. Dogme tries to go back to the basics of art in film by a self-imposed discipline of ten 'rules' known as the Vow of Chastity. These include no added effects (such as added music, sudden time and location shifts, superficial action such as murders) and using only hand held cameras and basic lighting. The point is to force the attention onto the abilities of the actors especially and not let the director off the hook with quick-fix technical solutions or dazzlements. (For the complete 'Vow', go here: http://www.dogme95.dk/the_vow/vow.html) Working under that sort of pressure, very many Dogme attempts have been failures, but the successes have been very noticeable. The sense of 'reality' is so acute that a relatively minor plot development can have immense impact.

At one point as I watched the film, an understated emotion just hit me hard in the chest and brought tears to my eyes: one of the characters (Helen) has become friends with some Romany refugees who are being subjected to racial abuse. Making light of it ("They were going cheap in Asda"), she gives one of them a phone as a present, playing it down so as not to seem overprotective. I thought: I don't care if this is fiction or reality, that is a very real, poignant, caring, loving emotion she has just expressed. The film had connected with me in a way that went beyond suspension of disbelief, and it was worthwhile and uplifting to experience. A similar reaction happened as the plot explored more intense passions.

Helen is in marriage to Paul that could be described a long-term but loveless, "Don't wake the baby up," he says to her gently as he takes his conjugal rights on her - against her will. Helen feels used. Paul is at his wits end from poverty in spite of hard work. He blames refugees for taking people's jobs (even though he doesn't think it below him to use them when he sees fit). Helen feels she just clears up the mess for everyone else, including her unmarried daughter and granddaughter. Her life has no point.

Tasha, an attractive Romany Czeck refugee who wants to better herself, comes into their life, hoping to get a passport, citizenship and freedom  things everyone else takes for granted. She is also in mortal fear of her Czeck husband and brothers who might come looking for her.

I watched Gypo at the UK Premiere and so was very fortunate to be able to speak to the cast and crew briefly. I asked one of the actors if working under Dogme had been different. There was an intensity in his voice as he recalled it  he said, you can't fake anything! Normally there is a point in the script where it might say, 'you killed someone' but of course everyone knows it's not real because people don't actually get killed in films. With Dogme, if you really can't do it, it isn't done. The effect is the audience buys in to what is being presented with a lot more trust. (All of the script in Gypo is improvised, although this is not a requirement of Dogme technique.) I asked Paul McGann (who plays Paul) further what advice he would give an actor planning to make a Dogme movie. He replied, "Get plenty of sleep!" then added on a more thoughtful note, "and have an open mind." Dogme looks pretty weird, but with results like Gypo it is hard to knock it, so have an open mind till you've seen it.

Gypo produces a remarkably convincing look at a dysfunctional working class British family, with its goodness and badness, and it made me feel proud to be in a country that is producing such high quality, riveting cinema (and on such an incredibly tiny budget!) It unites art, gripping entertainment and responsible social comment in a way that few films aspire to and many less achieve. Director Jan Dunn cares about making movies in a way that shows integrity to the medium, responsibility within society, and a duty to give the audience every penny's worth of its ticket money. Her enthusiasm and skill provide a role model for aspiring filmmakers to emulate. For all its subject matter, Gypo is one of the most moving and joyous films I've seen recently and probably the best British film I've seen this year.


Just when it seems that cinema has descended yet again into the deep abyss of zero plot combined with tons of special effects performed by pretty boys and pop tarts with no acting abilities whatsoever to disguise the fact that it is trash, something new comes along to uplift the entire sorry state of modern film and restore the discerning audience's faith in the true art of the cinema. I attended just such a performance at the 24th August 2005 premiere screening of Gypo in the UK at the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and found it to be a powerful dramatic piece (the first British one) from the recent Dogme genre of film making. According to its manifesto, Dogme rules reject special effects, scripted and formulaic acting, and films all scenes in ambient light to make the actors rather than post- production additions drive the plot. Told from the points of view of the wife Helen, the husband Paul and the Czech immigrant Tasha, the story of the disintegration of a working-class British family from Margate while encountering newly-arrived refugee immigrants, makes for some gritty, gripping entertainment. As the film covers the same events from three differing points of view, the plot is gradually fleshed out and brought to a most surprising conclusion. Nothing is as it originally appears. Be prepared to be surprised and absorbed completely in the unfolding, many-layered story.

Pauline McLynn, usually known for her comedic acting in the UK, gives a tour de force drama performance as the frustrated, ineffective-feeling wife Helen. One feels her frustration when her husband and teenage daughter use her in various ways and make fun of her attempts to find her inner creative self in sculpture classes. When she meets Tasha, we are allowed to see her caring and compassionate side in reaching out for those less fortunate still. Paul McGann portrays the simmering angry, repressed, frustrated breadwinner who hates change yet despises his limited, impoverished, meaningless existence of doing carpet installation day jobs. Alternating between stony silence and lashing out in bigoted epithets at "Gypos" whom he feels (incorrectly) take his jobs, McGann portrays a total bastard with whom one may still feel some sympathy. Perhaps, he might have filled some of the silent scenes with more lines, but his performance was generally quite solid. Relative acting newcomer Chloe Sirene, actually London-born, also gives a fantastic and completely convincing performance as the Romany Czech refugee, Tasha, struggling against ethnic hatred and pursuing male relatives to gain British citizenship, independence, and find her way in an impoverished and hostile area. Even though a teen the age of Helen's daughter, she shows great strength and resilience in the face of great adversity. The supporting cast also give very solid performances that add texture to the developing story line.

Hopefully, this excellent film will make its way into American theaters, at the very least the Art Theater circuit, in the next year. This deserving film definitely should be added to everyone's must-see list.


Gypo is an interesting British film, once again proving good stuff doesn't have to come from Hollywood. A typical(?) British family lives a life of lies and deals with things as best they can until they meet a Chec mother and daughter who change their world. Gypo is apparently Brit slang for Gypsy/immigrants. This film proves that people all over the world are intolerant of others and are hypocrites. A couple of unexpected story swings made it a little more refreshing than the often mundane screen depiction of the disintegration of a family. Since the film took the same story from several points of view, it allowed you to better understand the characters background. I was glad that they really segregated the stories, otherwise it would have been confusing. All in all a good dramatic film.


Gypo was a big disappointment. At the start of the film the screenplay was very unrealistic and I told my girlfriend about ten minutes in that if it didn't get better I would turn it off. I held out and when the story changed person it got a lot better.

Pauline McLynn outperformed the script, she is capable of far better things. However, despite her best efforts, she just couldn't convince that Paul McGann was her husband; they were a mismatch. The star of the show was Chloe Sirene, who pulled off the Czech accent so well that she had me convinced (it wasn't until I watched the DVD extras that I found out she was English).

All in all this is a poor film. I think the director was so obsessed with meeting the rules of the 'dogme' method that she was ignorant to the fact that people would actually have to watch it. Why make a film to comply with a set of rules when you should be making it to pleasure the viewer?


Being a Czech myself, I feel kind of about this movie. On the one hand, it is very didactic, simple, sometimes pathetic, but at the same time: Be it so. It is necessary and it does the so-called "job":

1.look-at-yourselves-you-sometimes-dumb-and- blind-Brits-it's-never-black-and-white,

2.look-at-yourselves-you-damned-Czechs- you're-not-able-to-protect-your-citizens, and the Roma situation in your country is really BAD

3.or: cultural diversity is good, everyone has something to contribute with,

4.or: not everyone is a money-thirsty economical immigrant.

On the other hand, the family background and relations of these "Czech" refugees and their portrayal was something I had to cringe at. Truth is that I was wondering about Sirene's (Tasha's) accent all way long...and, with a great uncertainty, I concluded she must have been Slovak. (I didn't know she was English, so in a way her accent was persuasive, although it def. wasn't Czech) I assumed that her mother (Irina/Rula Lenska) must be Russian or Polish because these couple of words she uttered definitely weren't Czech, rather this Slavic universal mixture. The only Czech sentence she says is "miluju te" which means i love you, which is commonly used in English, but rarely amnong parents and children, rather for lovers. Another thing - Romanies tend to speak Romani language among each other, especially the older generation.

However, these are minor details I can overlook. But what the hell was this bunch of guys, both Sub-Carpatian Ukrainian and mafioso like looking, that came after them??? I can't think of a single place in the Czech Republic where gypsies would look anything like it, not mentioning the fact that after 40 yrs of communism there's zero left of their traditional life. I mean Romanies of course have their communities, but a vast majority of them dress like other Czechs. In Gypo even the caravans (altho for refugees) were there to suggest this traditional nomadic life. The way Tasha's mother dressed and decorated herself is rarely seen among the Czech gypsies.

If these refugees were from Slovakia or Romania, I would find it more credible.


I've given it 2, but even then I find it hard to justify such a high mark. I had high hopes for this film, having read reviews in which it was praised for presenting a refreshing and original take on the refugee/asylum issue. I'm sorry, but for me - a die-hard liberal who should have lapped up its messages - it simply didn't deliver. Stylistically, it was awful to watch: more goofs and blunders and continuity slips than I could count. The script was terrible: it seemed like a middle-class film-maker's idea of how working-class people speak and behave. It sounded like a workshop piece from a creative writing class. The characters didn't work, either. Not a single one of them was remotely believable - just a whole bunch of stereotypes. And despite a stellar cast, the acting was awful - which, I would guess, was largely to do with the direction, and not a little to do with the script. The whole thing failed to move me in any way - except when it came to ejecting the disc and taking it back to the shop.


What can I say? While I was complaining about the factual errors in a movie, a wise man (Vance) once told me "Suspend your disillusion!" Even though this "Ham" in the Swiss Alps is trying to talk on 80M with a parabolic dish, I gotta admit, this _is_ a kinda neat movie. I felt good to watch this, but rather than the plot generating this fuzzy feeling, it's probably really just brought on by the memories of watching B-movies at 4AM after a good night out. My sweetheart did get to jump once, and I must admit the suspense rivals that of most of the muck in the so-called action films released in the theaters every weekend. This movie isn't DVD worthy, but neither does it belong next to TRON (in file 13, or the round file.) I'm going to put it on my shelf next to the WarGames and Sneakers VHS tapes, to be watched over and over as I dream of a hackers ideal...


Quite possibly the best film ever - certainly the best space film ever. An all-star cast, good special effects and a brilliant story drive the film along. Like I say, the best film ever made?


This movie is one of the best out there, I've rented the movie so many times I ended up just buying the video. I love the segue of how they start in the beginning with how we broke the sound barrier to the advent of the space program. The direction of the film was incredible too. Take the time to rent this legendary film, you'll be happy you did!


I don't feel the acting plays too much of a central role in a movie like this, as it's based on actual people rather than fictional characters. To overplay them, makes them unrealistic and TV interviews in the 1960s were not incisive enough to allow understatement of the part.

The book paces the film nicely with a straight conversion to screenplay (more or less). The cast are good, less well known at the time of course.

It's the quality of the finish on this movie, the detail which stands out. I watched it two nights ago and was convinced by the scale, flying sequences, rocket flights, space scenes and authenticity of the whole package. Something I resolutely cannot say about many films which are nearly twenty years old.

Apollo 13 which it can't avoid comparison with, looks a hollow movie in comparison. Moments of 'depth' are preceded by meaningful pauses and lots of shouting to signify anger. Again the screenplay could have been adapted with relative ease from Andrew Chaiken's book on the Apollo missions; all the same details are present.

The Right Stuff is a fine movie that deserves its high place for several reasons. Firstly it's long, but not boring (a considerable achievement), secondly the characters come "warts'n'all"- like the irritable Lyndon B. Johnson and 'unlucky' Gus Grisshom - with no resorting to sentimentalism for 'yesterday's heroes'. Thirdly the film is shot with a deft hand. If you look 'through' the movie and watch the story unfold (which is the intention - after all), you'll probably miss how much fore-thought has gone into splicing the scenes together. Some of the shots are tremendously difficult to achieve (particularly the flying scenes) and as well as being densely varied, they give the movie a 'non-cheap' moniker. Kaufman has suffered and slaved for his art and the movie's position in the top 250 is his deserved recompense.


A wonderful movie that shows the saga of heroes that began the construction of the history of western space conquest in parallel with aces that never went to space in despite of their skills, like Chuck Yeager. It also deals with the problem of crew's management and the role of the government in the space exploration. All movie is well done, with brilliant actors (attention on Ed Harris as John Glenn) and a long sleepless story.


So, This movie is my absolute favorite of all time. It manages to both be educating and entertaining, mixing great special effects and great dialogue. A must see


Parts of it were a little eerie but the action left a lot to be desired, the fight scene at the end and the car crash were a little awful and a bit laughable.

I liked the flashes of the future in black and white though.And the explosion at the start looked pretty good, I think thats why it's disappointing, because the first five minuets were more entertaining than the rest of it put together.

Personally I think my media class could have made something better, but it wasn't terrible, the mothers dislike of the nanny was believable.

Okayish. It might have worked better as a spoof comedy.


I do not under stand all the bad talk about this movie; I mean come on! this was not intended as a hollywood block buster, it was made for lifetime TV. If you actually watch the movie closely or more than once, you will see that it is really kinda eerie. I watched this movie the very first time it was aired on october 1992 and have watched every rerun on lifetime since. I give it a solid 8 of 10


Apart from being low-brow from the start, this film is not even merely interesting. It's just a waste of time and money. What bothers me the most is the fact that the makers seem to have picked a the girl's country of origin at random - since they weren't going to check any facts out before shooting.

I'm surprised they even got the car plates right. But it's downhill from there. The Volvo is clearly American, European cars arrange headlights differently. There are no catholic schools for girls in Stockholm, at least not of importance, since catholicism is a less important religion than Islam in Sweden.

The differences between Sweden and the US are not that great. I mean, she messes up the dinner because she can't use the microwave? Give me a break.

This film is not worth the 90-or-so minutes. Just fast forward through it and you'll do fine.


Gwen Araujo was born some twenty years ago as a biological male and raised with a brother and sister in a single parent household.

It was apparent as shown in the film that Eddie as he was known then was feeling that the anatomy given at birth was not matching what was felt inside. In the teen years, Eddie took the name of Gwen to show her real persona and that was what she presented to the world.

If the Gwen Araujo Story has a weakness it's that their are no really developed secondary characters in the film. It is dominated completely by Mercedes Ruehl as Gwen's mom and J.D. Pardo as Gwen.

But these are two very powerful performances indeed. Ruehl is a loving, caring mother whose own life experiences have left her ill equipped to comprehend what her child is dealing with. As for Gwen, she's an innocent adolescent, but a brave one. Not comprehending why she's the object of such hate and ridicule, but determined to present herself to the world as she sees herself. Pardo does a great job in capturing both parts of Gwen's character.

Had this been done for the big screen we might have gotten a more well rounded film, but as a made for TV film this is definitely one of the better ones. Hopefully a couple of Emmys might be in the future for both Ruehl and Pardo.

It is also to be hoped that this film will educate and enlighten the public about transgender teens and what they face in their daily lives.


Outstanding film dealing with a teenager who was totally female in thought but was born in the body of a male and suffered each day in his tragically short life.

J.D. Pardo is excellent as the conflicted youngster. Former Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl shines in the role of his mother who at first thinks that he will outgrow his obsession of being a girl only to find out that this shall be his way of life. She goes to bat for him all the way.

This excellent film deals with a major societal problem regarding transsexual behavior. We saw it in "TransAmerica," and "Boys Don't Cry." While the ending is tragic, the film is well acted and creates a disturbing picture of what transsexual people have to endure in our society.


I thought this was one of the most thought-provoking and powerful films I've ever seen based on this subject. When I read about this story awhile back, I was galled by what happened to her. J.D. Pardo and Mercedes Ruehl certainly shine in their performances. This should have been made as a major motion picture, and not relegated to being a made-for-TV movie. That being said, however, I salute Lifetime for being brave enough to produce it! It reminds me of another brave film, called "Soldier's Girl" from 2003, also a made-for-TV movie, which was also extremely well-done. A standing ovation for everyone involved in both of these productions!


This story was on Lifetime last night. I'm a big supporter for GLBT community. I think they should be treated right I think they should be allowed to have their freedom I think they should be allowed to be them and not be ashamed, embarrassed,hated, killed, or beaten for be so. It was a good movie. J.D. Pardo was amazing as Gwen. She was beautiful in the movie and once I saw the real Gwen I still thought the same thing she was beautiful as both a girl and guy both on the inside and out. I have to say a few things got to me while watching it. I didn't like how her grandmother was like embarrassed of her and I didn't like how her mom went in and took all her make up and posters down. I also didn't like how her mom went and told Joey she was really a guy she should have let Gwen do that when she was ready to. I did however like how they finally realized this was who she was and accepted her. I didn't like how the attorney for her murders wanted her mom to blame society for her daughters murder instead of the guys. Society didn't kill her they did. I didn't like how the 2 guys only got 6 years. There are eventually going to be out on the street then what? How are other transponder,bisexuals,lesbians,gays going to be protected from them and people like them? What about Gwen and her family to me I don't think justice was served. They all should not be allowed out again. Another thing that got to me was that neither one was charged with committing a hate crime. They beat her for 5 hours strangled her, cut her, and buried her because the rumors of her being born a guy were true how can that not be considered a hate crime. I don't know this movie really touched me. I like shows like this that show how people really are. I look up to Gwen as a hero she was who she was. She was murdered for being her and not what other people wanted her to be and now she is dead she didn't deserve it. Hopefully people who see this movie will see what's going on and maybe one day it can be different. Rip Gwen.


The movie was good in the material it was trying to get across. I agree with the first reviewer for the most part. I don't understand why no one was charged and convicted of a hate crime. My eight year old son was watching it with me and at the end of the movie he said, but they did hate her Mommy. As for her family, I find that many people do not realize how much being raised in a different culture plays a role in our life. Gwen's grandmother was not only Latina but a religious Latina. We would hope that religion would bring us tolerance but most wars begin because of religion and who believes they are more right. But I stray. Yes she was ashamed and intolerant but she loved her grandson. She believed he was born a boy and that he could be "fixed." But I don't believe she would meant to hurt him. It was just a lack of understanding on her part. My parents and grandparents are the same. They will stop talking to you over less, take pregnancy.


This movie is amazing. I enjoyed it very much. The story is very sad, and its even sadder that its a true story. J.D Pardo acted out the parts very well. He did an amazing job. I love the moral of the story and I think everyone should learn from it. The moral would be to accept people for who they are, don't judge people for that's on the outside, love and accepted them for what's underneath. This movie will definitely make you stop and think how cruel society can be. I'm glad they brought Gwen Araujo's story to life. I think it was time her story was heard. The people who acted in this movie did an amazing job. I can't see anyone else better for his movie then these people. I'm glad they made this movie as touch as it was. May Gwen rest in peace.

Thanks: Nicole


Today it seems films addressing these issues are still underexposed and maligned at times, the message is important and this film should be recommended in schools.

The third time I watched this film I understood the clear severity of discrimination and hatred that is deflected onto various individuals in American "society". This film is based on a true story wherein J.D. Pardo portrays a trans-gendered high school student. Mercedes Ruehl is excellent as the single mother, struggling to understand her son, and what is plaguing him.

The screenplay is particularly well-done, in that we see the family unit, how much Ruehl and the grandparents love their children, and the build-up to ensuing tragedy.

The court scenes could be tiresome, but are not as the film flashes back to what actually occurred, and the murder trial. Of the three culprits, none were charged with hate crimes. Highly recommended. 9/10.


I saw Gwen's story on Lifetime, and I was moved beyond words. I am not a trans gendered teen myself, however I hurt the way they do, only from hearing the horror stories, and seeing the pain. Honestly I cried like a baby during and after this movie, just because I saw how painful it can be to live as a trans gendered teen. As a 3rd party I don't know the whole story, however I do know that I am a proud trans gendered supporter, and I will continue to feel like a friend of Gwen in some ways. I would have loved to meet her, and in watching this movie I felt like we would have been friends, good friends! Congratualations to the family of Gwen, you should be very proud!


Cary Grant plays a newspaper reporter who falls in love and marries Irene Dunne, whom he meets at a record store. While abroad in Japan, tragedy strikes for the couple, which sets the course for the story. It really is a simple story about how a married couple long for having a home and a family of their own. Grant surprised me with his family man role, quite different from the sophisticated characters he played later on in his career. His monologue during the adoption hearing was one of the best scenes in the whole movie and very well done. Irene Dunne was great in her role as his wife. The little girl who plays their daughter was too cute for words. It was also an interesting insight into how a couple struggles to raise their first child, which is something many people can relate to, no matter what the time period. It was also interesting the way Dunne went through all the flashback scenes in the movie by playing records that reminded her of their life together. Beulah Bondi (who played George Bailey's mother from It's A Wonderful Life) has a great supporting role as the head of the adoption agency who has doubts about the couple at first, but then grows to care a great deal for them. The ending was a complete surprise. If you like Cary Grant or old Hollywood movies, this is something different. Sad, but sentimental. Recommended.


I just love this sweet old movie. Cary Grant is gorgeous, Irene Dunne beautiful, Edgar Buchanan a lovable old codger. A story about falling in love and the deep inner desire to build a family with the one you love -- and the challenges and sadness that can be as great, but never really greater, than the happiness and fulfillment it brings.

Falling in love, best friends, career challenges, pregnancy, miscarriage, infertility, adoption, death, divorce... it's all covered in this one sweet little movie. And it's all told in a way that reminds us all how important music is as it sets the soundtrack to our lives.

This is a wonderful movie. It may not be Citizen Kane -- but it is definitely worthy of your time.


I wasn't much of a Cary Grant fan until I saw this film for the first time about 10 years ago, and I also discovered the embodiment of grace and charm that is Irene Dunne as well. Cary Grant is at his most charming and gives a very amusing and, at times, very very touching performance as a new dad. When he gives his heart-rending speech to the child custody judge and begs to keep his adopted baby girl, it brings a lump to my throat every time I see it. Irene Dunne was a classy lady in anything she did, and can be as quietly funny as she can be dramatic, as she demonstrated in this film. She was a great "straight-man," too, to Cary Grant's more animated role. I truly love this film.


One well written movie of the 40's. To this day, this movie will hold your attention even though you will find no vulgarity, nudity or violence.

Tragedy turns to comedy with tale of a writer and his newlywed desperate to settle down in a traditional American lifestyle, start a new business and have a family. Their innocence is refreshing, and the writer has such timing in the course of events that you find yourself wanting to help this couple diaper a baby!!!

Cary Grant "nails" this performance with his "heart-felt" speech in front of a judge. (Get a box of tissue for this one.) The body/language between Grant's and Dunn's character make this movie charming and realistic.

You find yourself laughing out-loud with the "every-day-problems-of-life" this couple gets themselves involved with......good for the whole family. A must see and a true classic.


Talk about a simple storyline: a couple wants to have kids. That's basically it. Once they (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne) have finally have one, the baby dies before birth. Then, they adopt a baby who makes it to about age six or seven and then dies after a quick illness.

Near the end, when the couple is ready to divorce because they couldn't handle this tragedy, another baby is offered to them, they accept and live happily ever after. Some parts of this are stupid - certainly the divorce angle - but this soap opera works because of the actors. Grant is excellent in the male lead, adding some good, much-needed comedy in spots. Dunne is very believable in her role. Edgar Buchanan ("Applejack") elevates this film with a very likable role. Beulah Bondi's "Miss Oliver" looks like the proverbial "old battle-ax" but proves to be a very caring person.

Another good feature of this film is that it was directed by George Stevens, one of the best of all time.

One thing I have yet to find: a good print of this movie. Whether VHS or DVD, it's always a lousy transfer. When is a decent DVD going to come out? Beware of anything retailing for $7.99 and below.


Julie Adams is seen going through recordings as the story unfolds; each song she plays brings back memories, and it represents a chapter in her life. Julie who has decided to leave her husband, Roger, remembers aspects of an unfulfilled life. The thing she most wanted in the world is denied to her: being a mother. Not everything in Julie's life has been bad, as we get to know her. Julie was lucky in finding a man like Roger, who did everything possible for her, except give her the child she longed for.

As Roger returns home from Japan, he establishes a small paper. He struggles to keep it going, but unfortunately, his business doesn't make it. It's at this juncture in their life when Roger and Julie decide to adopt. They are lucky in that the kind head of the agency, Miss Oliver, realizes they have all it takes to be good parents, even though their finances don't add up. When Trina, the infant girl, is offered to them, they decide to take the chance. Roger, who wanted a boy, has an emotional encounter with a judge that wants to take the girl away from him and Julie when his paper folds.

As Trina, the infant girl, is brought home, Julie and Roger realize how ill prepared they are to take care of the baby. Applejack, who helps run the paper, saves them from their own awkwardness and shows the couple how babies are taken care of. Trina, who grows to be a sweet little girl, contracts a mysterious illness and dies. Her death, together with all the Adams' financial problems, breaks their marriage. We watch Julie preparing to do, but the providential call from Miss Oliver with the offer of a new orphan boy, serves to bring the Adams' together.

George Stevens directed skilfully this melodrama. By emphasizing the financial problem of the Adams', and not dwelling in Trina's tragic loss, Mr. Stevens got away from the total tear jerker the material could have turned in the hands of another director.

Irene Dunne and Cary Grant had appeared in two other comedies before. Without a doubt, Cary Grant steals the picture with his amazing take on Roger Adams, a man who is a reluctant adoptive father, only to have his heart stolen by Trina. Mr. Grant proved here he could have easily made a serious dramatic actor. Ms. Dunne is also effective as Julie, a woman who can't have children of her own. Edgar Buchanan is seen as the loyal Applejack, and Beulah Bondi appears as the kind Miss Oliver, the woman who brings happiness to the Adams.

The film is worth seeing because of Cary Grant's invaluable contribution to the film.


This is a very nice film.Cary Grant is really good and Irene Dunne is lovely, and all the girls that play Trina are adorable.It has a very beautiful message.It is about a couple, a very young couple that can't have children so they try to adopt a little girl...they fight hard to keep her, and they win the fight and sacrifice themselves to do so.But the little girl dies, and they both become distant to each other... If you ever have the chance to see it...please see it, it is lovely. Though I am not sure about the end, it just seemed too happily unusual(not everyone is THAT lucky) to my taste.

8/10.


I watched this film before Christmas when TV decides to play movies all day long and I get very easily distracted. As I have been studying a few Cary Grant film over the past semester I wanted to watch Penny Serenade because I thought it may help an essay I am writing currently. My mother also sat down to watch with me. At the beginning I was unimpressed to be honest but as soon as the story really gets going and the drama unfolds I was hooked. I cried when Irene Dune couldn't have children anymore, I cried when The adoption baby was bought out and I sobbed and sobbed when the little girl died. I wasn't expecting such an emotion attack but I was fully involved in the narrative. If you like Cary Grant or Irene Dune watch this, If you like very well acted dramas watch this, If you like films watch this, I seriously doubt you will be disappointed! 10/10


The interpretation of Cary Grant is very great and appreciable. The story is very nice. This is another of the excellent films made by Cary Grant, who I consider the best actor in the cinema's history. By the way, I must say that watching "Penny Serenade" on TV I have discovered a very clever actress, too, who I haven't known before, Irene Dunne.


Far from the comedy of The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife, this pairing of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne pulls out all the sentimental stops to get you sad and keep you sad.

A Penny Serenade is the chronicle of a marriage between the two World Wars of the last century. Cary is an aspiring newspaperman who meets Irene while she's working in a record shop. They marry and Cary takes an assignment in the Far East.

The Japanese earthquake of the Twenties causes Irene to have a miscarriage and she can't have any other kids. They come home and this time adopt a little girl. A few years later, she falls ill suddenly and dies. The strain is too much for both of them.

I think you get the idea where this is going, but under George Stevens's skillful direction Penny Serenade remains sentimental without descending into the maudlin. It's also due to the skill of the leads.

Cary Grant got his first of two trips to the Oscar sweepstakes with this film. This was due to a great scene he has with a family court judge as he pleads for him and Irene to keep their child. There couldn't have been a dry eye in any theater this was playing in back in 1941. Grant lost the award to Gary Cooper as Sergeant York.

In the supporting players mention must be made of Edgar Buchanan and Beulah Bondi. Buchanan is Grant's good friend who comes to work as a pressman when Grant starts a small town newspaper after coming home from the Orient. He has a wonderful scene showing the new parents how to change a baby's diaper. Beulah Bondi plays the wise and sympathetic head of an orphanage who's a very shrewd judge of people and the qualities they need for parenting.

A lot of similarities between this and the 1970s film Pete and Tillie with Carol Burnett and Walter Matthau.


Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are ideally matched in a movie quite different from their screwball comedies. They have marvelous chemistry together. The dialogue is marvelous as the couple travels from young and carefree to bitter and cynical. Edgar Buchanan is marvelous as Applejack. If you want to see great acting and are in the mood for a good cry, watch Penny Serenade.


After 65 years, this film still rings true in many ways. Several people have mentioned the "bathing the baby" scene, but my favourite is the alarm clock scene. One thing I appreciate is that Dunne and Grant's new baby actually looks fairly new, jerky movements and all - maybe not 5 weeks old, as stated, but definitely younger than the usual Hollywood "newborn". I'm sure that at the time, this movie was quite educational for many people like the two main characters, who thought that you adopt a baby by going to the nearest orphanage, picking out the one you like, and walking out with it. I only wish the filmmakers had taken the opportunity to really underline the fact that *everybody* wants a 2-year-old with curly (preferably blond) hair, blue eyes, and dimples, but what about the 99.999% of less "perfect" children very much in need of a good home? The film does slide toward melodrama on occasion - did it take a full-blown earthquake for Irene Dunne's character to have a miscarriage? One thing I noticed is that this film actually shows a married couple sharing the same bed! Mind you, Irene Dunne is lying on top of the cover with her dressing gown on, tensely waiting for the baby's next feeding, while Cary Grant is off to sleep, but I still wonder how it got past the Hays office. The little girl who plays 6-year-old Trina is not *too* saccharine (except for her voice), but at the end of each speech, she is obviously remembering that she's been told to "Smile, dear, smile!".

What ruins it for me is the ending - their little girl has been dead for only a few *days*, and her parents are ready to start with another baby. IMO, at this point, any normal parents would react with revulsion to the thought of "replacing" their dead child. As another reviewer mentioned, in this film it's like replacing a dead goldfish. If only the filmmakers had implied that several *months*, or better yet, a year or more, had passed, and shown the couple finding each other again first, it would have been much more believable and touching. BTW, several reviewers have mentioned the poor quality of the DVD or video they watched, but the one I had from Triton Multimedia was, not outstanding, but quite all right.


There are so many things to recommend about the film "Penny Serenade". This is a heart tugging yet not sappy story of a couple who realize they need a child to keep them together and their only option is adoption. The Cary Grant character starts off wanting nothing to do with children and ends up having his adopted child being his raison d'etre. There are many familiar yet well executed themes: adopted children can be just as loved as birth children; you don't have to have lots of money to be a good parent. Another thing that is very impressive about the film is a unique film technique for its time. The plot is revealed through flashbacks which happen while the Irene Dunne character is playing phonographs: the record spins and dissolves into the scene from the past. I found this transition technique quite effective and ahead of its time. The other thing that stands out is the casting of the young actresses that play their daughter. All 3 are adorable, but not in an annoying, mock precocious, Shirley-Temple way. Finally, this film is billed as a change of pace from the Dunne-Grant comedies like "The Awful Truth" but the awesome truth is that this film has hilarious moments. Grant is is fine comic form, especially in the early morning feeding scene. You can find the DVD "Penny Serenade" in the bargain bin at many stores which in a way is an insult but a great opportunity for you to add this great film to your DVD collection for pennies.


Directed by George Stevens and starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, PENNY SERENADE was among the most admired films of 1941. But it seems the film has now drifted into public domain, and the result is incredibly dire: a very muddy soundtrack coupled to a picture that shudders and shakes so that you can barely stand to look at it.

This a great pity, for PENNY SERENADE is a fine film that deserves much better. The concept is simple: as wife Julie (Irene Dunne) packs to leave her husband Roger (Cary Grant), she plays the various records the two have collected over the years. Each recording recalls the various phases of their lives: their chance meeting, their rather unexpected marriage, early years spent in the far east. But they are unhappy in their inability to have a child--and so they return to the United States to adopt. But their happiness ends in tragedy, a tragedy which neither seem able to surmount.

The story is sentimental melodrama, of course, but it transcends its own genre. George Stevens was one of the great directors of Hollywood's golden age--director of such diverse classics as A PLACE IN THE SUN, SHANE, and WOMAN OF THE YEAR. In lesser hands the film might have been reduced to pure soap, but he strikes the perfect balance between charm and tearfulness. The leads are equally perfect, with both Irene Dunne and Cary Grant (who were memorably teamed in such frantic screwball comedies MY FAVORITE WIFE and THE AWFUL TRUTH) discarding their broad comedic skills in favor of plausible humor and sincerity. The supporting cast, which sports nice performances by the likes of Beulah Bondi and Edgar Buchanan, is also very fine, the script is quite good, and the cinematography both functional and elegant.

But all this counts for nothing if you cannot actually stand to watch the truly awful VHS and DVD versions available. And they really are that bad. Over the years I've picked up several copies of this film released by several companies--Madacy, Laserlight, and most recently Front Row--and although the transfers vary a bit from company to company they are never more than extremely bad and quite often down-right unwatchable. This is a film in desperate need of restoration, and until it receives that you're better off looking for it on the late-late show--for I can almost guarantee that the print you will find there will be superior to virtually any home-market release you can lay hands on.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT


This DVD version of the classic tear-jerker "Penny Serenade" may only be a standard production (considering recent technological advances in digital entertainment), but all of the delightfully sappy "soap" effect of the 1941 original remains 100% in tact. A few little gimmicks include a cute interactive trivia game that doesn't show you the answer until you guessed correctly.

Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are perfectly matched as the young couple whose years together are chronicled through the countless special songs they shared in a massive record collection. The tragedies and joys are all mirrored in the songs. When the couple's happiness seems doomed after losing their unborn child, adopting a little girl brings an abundance of sparks back. When this child dies at a young age, Grant's despare seems to be too much to weather, and Dunne sees no alternative but to leave.

The miracle (even if somewhat predictable) at the end is nothing short of Hollywood Magic. Though a relatively lackluster production (certainly with Hollywood Golden Era's glamorous image), "Penny Serenade" easily makes most "top 10" tear jerker lists. A rare gem


Cary Grant and Irene Dunne were the cream of the crop of silver screen romantic duos. Drawn out by the incredibly sensitive nature of George Stevens's direction, they reveal great versatility in the dynamics of their on-screen repertoire, playing a couple who meet, suffer tragedy, and experience great highs and exasperation alike. What I find funny is that I do not want to describe the story very much at all for fear of diminishing the effect of going through the experience freshly without any knowledge of it, but the film is nothing more than a film about a middle-class couple trying to start a family! That's the movie! There is nothing dull about it, either. Stevens, perhaps the ablest filmmaker of the era next to Hitchcock, saw the profundity and catharsis in it, and the receptive, insightful control and room to allow his particularly personal vision to make it feel like the experience cinema is meant to be, a chronicle ensuing the life-changing happening of falling in love, and the innate personal longing to make a family and a home with the one you worship, and the trials and grief that can be as intense, though never really more, than the pleasure and gratification it begets.

There is not a single insincere frame in this picture. Even its story being told in flashbacks is done to remind us how significant music is as it synchronizes the soundtrack to our lives. In effect, whenever music plays in the film, and it is predominantly source music rather than underscoring, there is a magnified reaction on our parts. Moreover Grant and Dunne's urge to settle down in a traditional American lifestyle is a minor supplement to their purely individual intentions behind it. Their innocence, their artless simplicity, is refreshing. The screenwriters, Martha Cheavens and Morrie Ryskind, have unspoiled grace in their phasing of the sequence of narrative that you become interactive with the characters.

Aside from the inimitable lovability of the beautiful, graceful, flexible, hilarious, touching and gifted Irene Dunne, Cary Grant is pitch-perfect in his entirely assured performance, especially during his moving monologue in front of a judge. The energy between the two create such endearing realism. You become aware of yourself laughing out loud with the day-to-day surprises and farcical obstacles with which they get involved.


A very fine movie, that surprised me positively. I was a little puzzled in the beginning, not being able to figure out Roger (Cary Grant)'s character, but slowly the story got under my skin. It turned out to be of general interest in the description of the ups and downs in a young couple's life, and even if the movie is more than 60 years old it has a message to tell all of us. Having known myself some of the terrible problems that Roger and Julie (Irene Dunne) experience, it impressed me to see how the director maintains a proper balance between the sentimental and the realistic atmosphere.

Grant demonstrates convincingly, how he also masters a passionate (and slightly sentimental) role - probably being best known for his parts in screwball comedies and Hitchcock-movies, this might surprise some people, including myself. Also, I like the acting of Beulah Bondi and Edgar Buchanan in two important supporting roles. They add to the credibility - and curiosity as well: What is actually the connection between Applejack and the young couple?.

You could also mention the conscious use of the camera - I particularly noticed a scene where the camera is placed on the stairs, thereby filming primarily the legs of the Roger and Julie.

My main reasons for only voting 8/10 is that Dunne and Grant lack the youth needed by their roles. Especially Dunne, though beautiful as always, has an aura of experience that does not match the role's innocence and helplessness. Second, the end of the movie is difficult to believe.

But after all, it is a highly recommendable movie for all lovers of everyday dramas.


This movie very well prevents itself from becoming a soap opera. The story has a stark realism to it that makes one realize that things weren't that different almost seventy years ago. Dunne and Grant play a couple who ends up adopting. Dunne is a pretty easy-going, sensible woman, but Grant shows a tendency to be rather flighty and impulsive. After some hard lessons in life, including losing their baby during an earthquake in Japan (making it impossible for them to also have any natural born children as a couple), the two move to a nice, small town in northern California.

They then decide to adopt a child, but not without difficulty. It is very difficult to adopt, and they are put on a waiting list. Through the help of a kindly adoption worker, they are able to adopt a little girl. It is very realistic, how the father (Grant) doesn't warm up to the idea of raising a girl. Yet, both parents instantly fall for the little girl. Thus, begins their adventure in raising a new child.

An old friend and colleague from New York City (Buchanan)shows up one day. The couple is trying to run a small town paper. They need all the help they can. Their paper's circulation remains a constant 908. Their old friend, is an former orphan/adopted child and he knows more than the couple about raising babies. In fact, he shows them both how to make a proper diaper.

However, two challenges are ahead. First, they have to close down the paper until they get their finances together. Because they don't hold jobs, they are forced before a judge to plead their case. This is real life in 1941 and 2008. Once that challenge is matched, they lose their daughter to a sudden illness. It almost breaks up their marriage, but the adoption worker saves the day by calling them with news that she found a boy for them to adopt.

The movie is very good. At times, it gets almost too sentimental, but it always saves itself from that by bringing the "real world" into the film. There are real challenges in both the marriage and the adoption. They aren't rich. They worry about finances and the difficulties of raising a child. It is real life.


You had better bring some... though not the standard light-hearted fare Dunne and Grant had performed in before, this film is a classic example of an American tear jerker.

The film winds you though these flashbacks while you wait to fall deeper into their despair, knowing it will happen. It's like hitting some cute furry animal and then standing there.. watching it... you'd know whats coming.

A great story and dramatic comedy its very well acted... films such as 'Terms of Endearment' and 'Beaches' learned their lessons here.

If you enjoy this film, I definitely recommend the Grant / Dunne 'screwball' comedy "My Favorite Wife".


This wonderful film has been a perennial favorite of mine, ever since I first saw it as a small boy.

It's kind of strange that this film made such an impact on a little kid, because there's either no action or adventure and there are no "showy" melodramatics; it's a sensitive film not a sentimental one, if you know what I mean.

"Penny Serenade" is an utterly touching account of the lives of an average middle-class married couple, showing their longings, dreams and deceptions; their joys and their sad moments; life in itself, poignantly played by the two leads.

The movie depicts in a very real, truthful way, everyday vignettes in the lives of this couple since they first meet, with plenty of dialogue (some viewers may find it kind of "talky"), but nonetheless of a very honest kind.

Irene Dunne and Cary Grant give so much truth to their performances; the situations in which they are involved ring so true and are so real and touching, with no contrivances or artificiality of any kind. The film is devoid of any fake and this makes it much more striking. Their performances are really impressive and only very skilled actors, like Dunne and Grant, can deliver so well in drama as well as in comedy.

George Stevens, one of the best Hollywood directors, demonstrates his huge talent in this wonderful film.

Excellent and touching performances by Edgar Buchanan as a friend of the couple with a heart of gold and dear Beulah Bondi, as a sweet lady who runs an orphanage.

Superior film in all aspects.


The assured hand of master filmmaker George Stevens makes the third and final pairing of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne more than an emotionally satisfying experience. Unlike the first two films - Leo McCarey's "The Awful Truth" (1937) and Garson Kanin's "My Favorite Wife" (1940) - this wholly sentimental 1941 tearjerker is not remotely a screwball comedy. That's not to say Grant and Dunne do not exude their customary charm and grace in their roles. They do in spades and continue to show the easy rapport that made them so compatible in all their films together. The film is also an early, uncommonly mature look at the challenges that arise with marriage and adoption, a precursor to later accomplished films like 1967's "Two for the Road".

Written by Morrie Ryskind (who wrote the classics, "My Man Godfrey" and "Stage Door"), the time-spanning story of Julie and Roger Adams is told in flashbacks as Julie plays her collection of 78's on an old Victrola. Just as she is about to leave Roger, the songs spark memories of defining episodes from their courtship and marriage. The early part of their relationship is played out fully with the stars' wit and charm as Roger attempts to pick up Julie by buying a pile of records at the store in which she works (even though he doesn't have a record player). They marry, and when he gets a career break as a reporter in Japan, she joins him and announces her pregnancy. This brief interlude is most amusing in hindsight as it shows a very stereotypical view of pre-WWII Japan right out of "Madame Butterfly" (the film was released a mere eight months before Pearl Harbor). In an intriguing display of early special effects, the 1923 Tokyo earthquake destroys their home, and she loses her baby and any chance of future conception.

This intractable loss becomes the impetus for the rest of the story, as they come back to California and attempt to adopt while running a local newspaper. They eventually adopt and raise a daughter from infancy, Trina, but further tragedy ensues to a palpable breaking point. As the classic film stars that they truly were, Grant and Dunne show how skillfully they can balance drama and comedy with a heavy emphasis on the humanism of the characters. Grant, in particular, has a heartbreaking scene where Roger begs a judge to allow Julie and him to keep their baby daughter despite their dwindling economic circumstances. Edgar Buchanan (long before his lazy Uncle Joe on TV's "Petticoat Junction") and Beulah Bondi provide able support as their devoted friend Applejack and Miss Oliver, the compassionate adoption agency worker, respectively. With no extras, the 2002 DVD has a decent enough print, though the film is in need of a more through restoration.


My all time favorite movie. Okay, one of my favorites... Cary Grant and Irene Dunne lose a baby...then adopt a baby only to nearly lose her in a court battle...then SHE DIES...they nearly divorce...and then (finally) they get the blue-eyed blonde baby boy they'd initially requested from the adoption agency and (presumably) live happily ever after.

The chemistry between Grant and Dunne is charming (see My Favorite Wife for further evidence of this) and the supporting cast is excellent with Edgar Buchanan as "Applejack" and the always wonderful Beulah Bondi as Miss Oliver. Eva Lee Kuney, who had no known acting roles after the late 1940's, was adorable as Tina and steals every scene she's in. The camera loved her.

Penny Serenade is on my short list of movies I watch whenever I'm having a "girl day" and all I want to do is sit on my sofa with my doglet on my lap and eat ice cream and have a good cry.


A strong contender for the ultimate Hollywood tearjerker, director George Stevens' (best known for 1939's GUNGA DIN and 1956's GIANT) genteel parental drama never resorts to easy manipulation or overbearing sentiment, but manages to involve audiences through a tightly-constricted script and top-notch performances from its leads. The simple story is wisely left uncluttered, with no attempts to artificially inflate the proceedings with unnecessary thematic distractions. Stevens cleverly revitalizes the often-utilized flashback device by book-ending the sequences with the effective visual of records being played on a turntable. Stevens also pulls tremendous performances from his principals.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne had long been a favorite screen couple in the madcap screwball comedies THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937) and MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940), and here the duo both deliver absolutely tour de force dramatic performances that is far removed from their typical fare of the time. Grant was nominated for his first Academy Award as Best Actor for his heart-wrenching portrayal of a man that seems to repeatedly lose everyone he ever cares about. Grant's emotional-yet-refreshing-restrained courtroom plea is unarguably one of the most touching scenes in film history, and the always-terrific Dunne is every bit his match in a subtle and conflicted portrayal that always hits the right notes. Intelligent and moving, PENNY SERENADE is a perfect reminder of just how effective sentiment can be when crafted with high expertise and professionalism.

Get your handkerchiefs ready, you may need a whole box full!


Very original format. Wasted no time in moving with the flow of real moving story. Not predictable at all. Got hooked watching TV and was surprised. Back to basics movie; touches the soul.

I was surprised to not have heard of Irene Dunne. Beautiful actress who played this part with natural skill. Cary Grant was also very convincing.


My grandmother introduced me to this movie when I was a child. I loved it then and I still love it today. Dunne and Grant were believable as a childless couple. This is a must see for anyone who needs an honest to goodness soul-wrenching cry.


The first 3/4 of the movie is cute, but nothing to rave about: boy meets girl, they eventually falling love, marry, she becomes pregnant and everyone is happy. Then disaster strikes in the form of an earthquake causes her to miscarry and her injuries are such that she will never be able to have a child. They are sad but stick together through it, and they eventually put their lives back together again. They decide they still want a child so they adopt. When they get to the adoption agency, a kind adoption lady presents them with a baby girl and they fall in love with the child and decide to adopt her. You see the adoption process and how happy they are. It is cute to see them learn how to take care of a baby. Their financial situation changes when the child is about 2, and before the adoption is final, the adoption head honchos threaten to take her away, because now they are poor. A stirring speech by Grant (and the faith of the kind adoption lady) convinces said honchos that Grant and Dunne are still good parents and that their child will never starve. They are allowed to keep the child, who we next see as sweet a little girl as anyone could wish for. Now as I said, up to this point, everything has been fine, some downs, but they've worked out their problems and are a happy, functioning family unit. As a whole the movie up to this point has been as cute and sweet as their little girl.

Then BAM, the next minute the kid is dead (no warning to the audience that the kid is sick, just BAM dead of something or other). They are too grief stricken to help each other, and instead tear themselves and each other a part. It's only been THREE DAYS since the little darling's death, and they are splitting up because they just can't handle the grief (this explains why Dunne is packing to leave Grant throughout the current time scenes in the film). Dunne wrote to the kind adoption lady telling her their tragedy as soon as the girl died, and before Dunne has a chance to leave Grant for good, the adoption lady informs the couple (who have yet to make up and are just as miserable as ever - remember it has only been three days since their little girl died) that the agency just got in a sweet little boy (two years old, golden curls, the sort of kid they thought they wanted to adopt before they saw their baby girl), and would they be interested in seeing him? Now suddenly, everything is a-okay, and they have plans to turn their daughter's room in to the perfect room for a little boy. Nothing, has been resolved in their marriage. Before they found out about the boy they were in the middle of deeply grieving for their daughter, in fact they were so grief stricken I thought for sure they were going to turn the little girl's room in to a shrine or something. Then they hear about this little boy, and it's like their little girl never existed.

In short, the ending is unnecessarily tragic in the little girls death alone, more so when her death splits Dunne and Grant apart, and ruined both by the fact that the couples problems are not fixed at the end of the movie, just papered over, and the treatment of a loss of a child as something a kin to the loss of a goldfish. Oh you lost your child? that's sad, but not a real problem. Just never you mind that and buck-up mom and dad, here's another. It is as though the movie is almost a warning to parents, enjoy them now because the little ones you love maybe taken from you at any moment, except, just kidding, that does not really matter because you can always have another and poof your grief will be gone.

Basically, if you stop the movie at the Christmas when the girl is six, it is not bad, it's a cute film, though not worth its rave reviews. The last twenty minutes or so ruin it, turning a tolerable film in to something that I just can't take.


I found this movie to be of good light entertainment value, but it is a little below the standards I had come to expect of both Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. However, their characters are portrayed with natural ease and charm.

The movie is told with Dunne's character, a woman contemplating divorce, reminiscing on happier times with the record she first listened to with her husband spinning. I found this puzzling at the start, but I was merely irritated by the end.

There were a few bright moments of comedy, notably the first night of parenting their adopted child. But with elements of drama combined, I was confused when the movie continually lapsed into comedy, then back to tragedy.

Comedy was something, described in the words of Dunne herself as "Too easy". This is the first comedy performance of hers I have watched. However, I still prefer her dramatic performances in "I Remember Mama" and "Anna and the King of Siam". As for Grant, "Bringing Up Baby", "The Philadelphia Story", "Holiday" and "His Girl Friday" are much better value for your time.

I'd recommend this movie to audiences who appreciate good old fashioned romance. Just start with "An Affair to Remember" first. Rating: 7/10


Roger Adams (Cary Grant), a newspaperman, meets and falls in love at first sight with Julie Gardiner (Irene Dunne), a young woman who works in a record store. A whirlwind romance follows shortly thereafter and eventually the two end up quickly marrying before Roger leaves to be a foreign correspondent in Japan. Soon we learn Julie is with child and all seems happy until something unexpected takes that away from them. Shortly thereafter, the couple returns to the USA and Roger starts publishing a brand new newspaper in a small country town but they still find something sorely lacking in their lives and ultimately decide what they need is to adopt a child which presents many unexpected challenges and hurdles by no means easy to overcome.

This soap opera/romance is one that's sure to appeal to most female viewers but really everyone will be able to relate. Music plays a key role here working as a sort of trigger to our heroine's memories which establish each new setting and unique emotional challenge that awaits our newly married couple in their desire to start a family. The music is very well chosen and accentuates every scene in which it appears. In the end, this one proves a real tearjerker and if you're something of a softie, it may cause the tears to roll down your cheeks so some may want to have tissues on hand if they watch this. Cary Grant, actually nominated for an Oscar for his role here, and Irene Dunne both prove superb leads who very effectively get the audience to really care about and feel for what happens to their characters. I have to admit, I'm not usually one attracted to this type of movie, but finding a copy of it relatively cheap, I decided to check it out and I was very impressed with it in terms of the attention paid to establishing romantic settings, building character relationships, presenting realistic hurdles and challenges for our lead couple to overcome and most of all for its ability to send an audience through a real roller-coaster ride of emotions.


'Penny Serenade' is a sentimental offering that never fails to reduce me to tears with every viewing.

The great Grant-Dunne team pull off another triumph in their roles as the married couple. After a series of joyous highs and heart-wrenching lows, Julie Adams (Dunne) is contemplating divorce from her husband Roger (Grant). She plays back the musical records that all signify a certain important event for her and her husband, and the emotions and memories flood back to her. Very reminiscent and nostalgic.

Cary Grant's gives one of his best performances ever as Roger Adams. He plays dramatic as well as comedic here, including a desperate plea for his child that reduces Grant to tears and will probably reduce you to tears too. I never thought that Grant would be an effective crier on screen, but he was great. He runs through the whole gamut of emotions in this film. The lovely Irenne Dunne is always wonderful, but she's particularly good here as Julie. Grant and Dunne look Hollywood, but we can believe them as genuine married couple because of the affection and genuine warmth to be found in their performances.

'Penny Serenade' also touchingly deals with the subject of adoption in an honest yet sympathetic manner. Who can forget Grant and Dunne's desperate search for a child, and their nervousness when they do find a little girl? Dunne is terrified of bathing the child for fear of drowning her, and we really feel for her and understand her fear. In one of the most beautiful moments to be found in the cinema, gruff old Applejack tenderly shows the couple how to bathe the child.

I think this is a more of a woman's picture than a man's, indeed it is a 'weepie'. It is slow-paced at times and has a tendency to drag endlessly in places, but the overall product is more than satisfying.

8/10.


Cary Grant and Irene Dunne give unforgettable performances in the this simple tale. Grant plays a small time newspaper man who is determined to run his own show. This leads to money troubles which puts undue pressure on his marriage. This is a 65 year old film but the same struggles face us today.

This movie touches on the subject of adoption. It handles it in a loving and emotional manner. Grant and Dunne deal with real and difficult issues in a realistic and wonderful manner.

The children used to portray their adopted child over the years were excellent, as was the case for the whole cast. Hats off to George Stevens. The film had funny moments and some very emotional moments. It required actors with range. That speaks volumes to the level of acting in this picture.

The scene that hits this point home is the one in which Cary Grant is confronting a Judge while his young daughter is in the room. This is acting at its highest level. It earned Mr. Grant an Oscar nomination. If you want to see a picture that pushes a story line backed up with actors that can handle it, this picture is for you.


"If the world was made of gold men would die for a handful of dirt". So goes the theme of this somewhat unusual western directed by Henry Hathaway in 1954. With lovely locations in Mexico this was Fox's first western in the then new process of Cinemascope and Stereophonic sound and boasted a top notch cast in Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Richard Widmark.

From a fine screenplay by Frank Fenton - Cooper and Widmark together with Cameron Mitchell and Victor Manuel Mendoza are four adventurers contracted by Leah Fuller (Hayward) to go back with her into the wilds of Mexico to rescue her husband (Hugh Marlowe) who is lying trapped and injured in a gold mine. They journey to the mine and perform the rescue but on their way back they are pursued by Apaches (a brilliant chase sequence) and must ward them off in a well staged attack on a hazardous cliff-face trail.

A good adventure yarn if a tad slow in parts but the widescreen picture looks great and the small cast are excellent. Cooper as Hooker is at his laconic best, Hayward is as gorgeous as ever, Mitchell in a good part as a temperamental and impatient young gun, Mendoza as the likable and amiable Mexican companion and Widmark shines as Fiske the droll and garrulous gambler who cuts for highest card to see who goes and who stays behind.

Beautifully photographed in Cinemascope and colour by Milton Krasner it is all excitingly handled by Hathaway. The picture also has an excellent score by the ubiquitous Bernard Herrmann. This was the only real western Herrmann ever tackled if you discount Burt Lancaster's early frontier epic "The Kentuckian" (1955) and some obscure episodes of TV's "The Virginian" in the sixties. Herrmann scored the film rather as a conventional adventure story and avoided the usual clichéd style of writing associated with westerns except perhaps the theme for Hooker (Cooper) where the composer hints at a "cowboy" tune with its wonderful long loping Americana tinged melody. But the score is mainly an intense and strident work full of suspense and foreboding. The main theme, first heard over the credits, is a brilliant defiant statement for full orchestra and is played in different guises throughout the movie. Particularly clever is the ominous figure on the octave flute which points up the unseen but ever watching Apaches. There is no love theme as such but tender music in the composer's gentlest manner underscores the Hayward character. All the stops are pulled out for the brilliant climactic music cue for the chase sequence (where the Apaches are in hot pursuit of the interlopers). It is a sensational swirling and thundering piece calling for some virtuoso playing from the magnificent Fox orchestra which they zealously deliver.

"Garden Of Evil" is available in a small Fox western box set along with two other western classics - the wonderful "Rawhide" (1951) and Henry King's "The Gunfighter" (1950). Enjoy!


Henry Hathaway made so many and such a variety of films, that when he did something outstanding like this western, people were kind of anesthetized and did not give it the value it deserved. 'Garden of Evil' has a great story, great actors, and a fabulous scenery. Not even Anthony Mann achieved this perfection of blending scenery and story. The story is about three men, Cooper, Widmark and Mitchell which are on a steam ship that breaks down and has to be fixed on the coast of Mexico, at a time where there was no Panama Canal, and they had to pass through Cape Horn, so the Pacific Coast was kind of unreachable and mysterious. There, while they have to wait, they are hired by Susan Hayward to free her husband stuck on a gold mine on a territory full of Apaches. They all desire the gold and also the woman, and she uses her power of seduction to command them. When they get to the place, which is called Garden of Evil, and realize that they might not come out alive, each one makes a choice about higher or lower values. There is an impressive fight between Mitchell and Cooper where Mitchell is repeatedly thrown into the fire. Rita Moreno in a small part where she only has a chance to sing half of two songs, is breathtakingly beautiful. Susan Hayward is excellent, Hathaway was able to bring out the best in her as he did in 'Rawhide'. One of the best lines is when Cooper says to Hayward referring to her husband, that what counts is what one does and not what he speaks. This film should be on any list of the all time best westerns.


While Cooper's career spanned ninety-two feature films, in which he appeared as everything from a masked Cossack to an Italian Renaissance explorer, a foreign legionnaire, a baseball great and countless sophisticated romantic adventurers, he is best remembered as a Western star...

'Garden of Evil' tells the story of three American adventurers (Cooper, Widmark, and Mitchell) who are stranded in a Mexican fishing village after the ship that was taking them to California is put out of commission...

All three were headed for the Californian gold rush... Instead, they are now in Puerto Miguel, approached by a woman in trouble, a Spanish-speaking American woman, Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward), who offers to pay them handsomely if they escort her through hazardous Indian territory to rescue her husband who is hurt and trapped in a gold mine up there in the hills...

The mention of gold makes them agree and, together with a Mexican macho man named Vicente (Victor Manuel Mendoza), begin their long, arduous journey...

Emotions become tense when Leah discovers Vicente marking trails and, later, finds herself fighting off the crude advances of one of the three soldiers of fortune...

When the group arrives at what the Indians call the Garden of Evil, a sacred grounds atop a high mountain where the mine is located, they found Fuller (Hugh Marlowe) still alive, but embittered and with a broken leg...

The group's troubles grow when they discover they are in danger, practically harassed by savage Indians...

"Garden of Evil" was Cooper first motion picture in CinemaScope... Along the way, he proves himself a powerful leader with a commanding performance...

Susan Hayward kept her thoughts and her affections pretty much of a secret, remaining skeptical about her motives... This was her second movie with Gary Cooper since her appearance in William A. Wellman's superb, high adventure 'Beau Geste,' and her third with director Hathaway...

Richard Widmark proceeds his ways of gambling with a neat line in cynical cracks; Cameron Mitchell fails in his unwelcome sexual advances; Hugh Marlowe uses a variety of both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with his angry feelings; Victor Manuel Mendoza gets intensely angry after being hit; and Rita Moreno delights the environment with her sweet voice...

Hathaway was one of the great Hollywood veterans still in harness, a versatile director whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films... Filmed on location in Mexico, his 'Garden of Evil' is a beautiful spectacle to behold... The vistas are strikingly clear and vivid... The film is a well-done character piece, concentrating on the relationships of the characters as on the evil influence of gold...


Filmed on location in the volcanic deserts and banana jungles of central Mexico, this film quickly escapes Western routine through its effective use of complex characterization and unusual scenery. The sweeping musical score and other worldly backgrounds establish an epic atmosphere. The background painting used in the opening credits and again in the "gold mine" sequences strongly recalls the paintings of Frederick Churchward. Mysterious and unattainable Susan Hayward leads an odd assortment of morbidly pensive adventurers in a mortal quest. As the characters' hidden pasts unravel, they sacrifice themselves, one by one, to assure the party's escape from hostile Indians. We are reminded that a society's least wanted members may be its most most willing defenders. Beneath the big screen Western flash, this is a film about loyalty and responsibility. Cooper's ending speech says it all.


The previous well done assessment of this film needs little further comment, except why has it not been put back into the loop as a wide-screen DVD? This movie is not one which plays often on the TV; I cannot recall having seen it in the last 30 years. The film and cast are excellent. Perhaps the film's flaw is the fact that it is not very well know as compared to some of the nonsense served up by John Wayne. Gary Cooper has made some really great films, and this is certainly one of them. Susan Hayward is always a delight for the eyes, and the Mexican scenery is most imposing. The one image which remains strongest in the mind about this movie is how, when, and where the Indians, single out which members of the rescue party are to be killed (one by one). I hope the industry which provides us with new DVD's every Tuesday will finally wake up and put this fine piece of work out on the shelf for sale where it belongs.


Coop and two other Americans heading around the cape to California, find themselves stranded in a hole in the wall village on the Mexican coast for several weeks while the ship they are sailing dropped anker for repairs.

A desperate woman arrives at the cantina looking for men to help rescue her husband trapped in their gold mine. The mine is deep in Indian territory and she offers them $2000.00 each to follow her into a land where white men go in but few come out.

Following her deeper into the bowls of h___ they each plan on taking the lady and the gold for themselves......the Indians have made other plans.

Garden of Evil is just plane good entertainment. If you see it listed on TV make time to sit down and watch it. You won't be sorry.

This is one of thousands of great movies, western classics, drama and film noir that the bean counters in Hollywood have failed to put out on DVD. It's an even bigger shame that this movie didn't even make it to VHS.


This brooding western has an uneven pace and meanders in places but is no less interesting because of the star power of Gary Cooper, the film's centerpiece. The movie is a grim, spare adventure of a party of mercenaries who journey into Indian country for the promise of gold to save a woman's husband who's trapped in an abandoned mine. Susan Hayward has her own personal demons and searches for redemption for destroying her husband's self-esteem and private demons weigh her down throughout the picture. The film tends to preach at times and has a moral about gold, greed and sacrifice. Richard Widmark has a role that seems to have been tailored for him as a cynical cardsharp and quick-draw loner who's as much a mercenary as is Cooper but not quite as noble. Cameron Mitchell has a thankless role as a weak-willed bounty hunter who seems tough enough until his bluff is called. Rita Moreno appears briefly and warbles a pretty tune in a saloon, and Bernard Herrmann contributes a fine music score.


I am giving a "7" for the cast, and production. I have no problems with the performances of the six leads, and only wish Rita Moreno had been given more than a few scenes she did well as the singer in a cantina. But this might have been an "8" or "9" as a film western with a bit better care in the script.

Don't get me wrong - the story is not the most difficult to accept. Three men (Gary Cooper as "Hooker"; Richard Widmark as "Fiske"; and Cameron Mitchell as "Daly) are stuck in a Mexican sea town while their ship is being repaired. All are headed for the California Gold Fields (so the year is 1849 - 50 or so). While drinking together in a cantina (where Moreno is dancing - it is owned by her boyfriend Victor Manuel Mendoza, here as "Madariaga") they are all approached by Susan Hayward (as "Leah Fuller") to assist her in rescuing her husband (Hugh Marlowe as "John Fuller") who is an engineer exploring a gold mind. There was a partial cave-in, and he is trapped under the beams of wood. She is willing to pay any man who assists her $2,000.00 for his help. After some discussion Cooper, Widmark, Mitchell, and Madariaga agree to do it. They are aware of one catch - the location of Marlowe and the mind is deep within Apache territory.

The story continues as they follow Hayward to reach Marlowe, constantly aware of the Apache danger (they are traveling during a holiday that tribe celebrates by hunting white men), and they are aware of problems among themselves. While each has been willing to take a chance on the mission for the $2,000.00 fee, at least two of the mercenaries (Mitchell and Madariaga) see it as an opportunity to possibly get rich on that gold mine. Cooper and Widmark may think of it too, but both are smarter - the Apache danger is more important to consider than some possible wealth. Also both men are attracted to Hayward, although both are equally wary of her motives. It looks at first like she deeply loves her husband, but she isn't really behaving like she does.

Personality conflicts develop. Mendoza tries to leave a trail for his friends to follow along the route, but Hayward and Cooper keep destroying his sign posts. Mitchell makes a play for Hayward, and is forced to confront Cooper. Some ugly points about Mitchell's past (he's a bounty hunter with a dubious modus operandi) come out, but he is put into his place. Widmark watches - a cynical man of the world and card player. Yet he and Cooper manage to create a kind of friendly relationship, although Cooper wonders if he is the kind of man who could fully meet the dangers of this trek in hostile territory.

They reach the mine and find Marlowe alive - and get him out. But they find him a bitter man - he feels Hayward hoped to find him dead so she could keep the mind. It is obvious that Hayward's behavior towards him in rescuing him was not due to lingering love but to a sense of guilt that he got himself into this mess trying to prove himself to her. But whatever the reason, the six find themselves suddenly facing the problems of returning to the Mexican town they left 100 miles or so away, facing a now visible and deadly Apache threat, and hampered by an injured Marlowe.

On the surface the story is interesting enough, but too many points are left dangling. Cooper's Hooker is a Texas lawman (which is why he knows about Mitchell), but Widmark knows of Cooper (he can't quite place him) and we wonder if Cooper has left Texas for some similar black mark against him. Widmark's cynicism or wisdom is done well - but how he'd get that way is never explained. The complications of the Hayward - Marlowe marriage are given to us in one scene in their cabin when the others are out, and we really needed something to fill in the background.

Still the performances are good - uniformly well done. I note particularly (and probably few would think of it) Victor Mendoza. Mexico has had one of the best movie producing industries in the world for decades, that is only belatedly getting the attention it deserves in the U.S. It is more than simply a transplanted Luis Bunuel making films there, or Cantiflas' social comedies. Mendoza's character of Madariaga is as complex as Cooper's Hooker, Widmarck's Fiske, Mitchell's Daly, or Hayward and Marlowe's twisted Fullers. He is the jealous boyfriend of Moreno, and when he tosses a rival out of his cantina he comes over to the three gringos and explains to them why (he noticed their interest in Rita too). He is an opportunist setting up personal signs leading to the mine, but he is willing to keep his word regarding rescuing Marlowe. His final moments are memorable too, yelling defiance at his unseen Apache tormentors. Fact is, he was a fine actor, and while never an "Oscar" winner or nominee won several equivalent Mexican awards in his career (see his thread on this board).

GARDEN OF EVIL is a good western and worth watching. Just a bit more fine tuning and it would have been a great western.


Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, and Richard Widmark are on a trip through the wilds of Mexico in search of gold. Hayward's husband was injured in a cave-in at the mine, and she has offered the party a share of the wealth if they will help her injured husband. It sounds simple enough, but there's only one small problem--a band of Apaches that are on the hunt for white scalps. However, the lure of the prospects of wealth spur the group on to the mine, and they reach the mine, save the husband, but now face the dangers posed by the Apaches.

Each character offers some sense of presence to the film; Cooper is able to portray the silent, strength of character person, while Widmark adds a philosophical, yet cynical, view of life in his role as Fiske, a gambler. Cameron Mitchell and a Mexican guide are along, with each hoping for the gold, and the good life it will bring. And, each person has to face the danger posed in the "Garden of Evil." Susan Hayward manages to keep the group together, but only till they reach the mine. After that, it becomes a tale of who will survive.


Lovely Susan Hayward comes to town looking for a few good men. They're in short supply in that Mexican town so she takes what she can get. Her husband, Hugh Marlowe is trapped in their mine with a broken leg and surrounded by Apaches. She hires Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Cameron Mitchell, and Victor Manuel Mendoza to rescue him.

Of course it's the gold that's attracting these guys, but having Hayward along on the trail is certainly diverting enough. They arrive at the mine with husband and Apaches still there.

There's little suspense here, mainly because the men fill out the casting stereotypes we've come to expect from them. I can't say any more on that subject lest I spoil the viewing if you're at all interested.

I can't wrap myself around the concept that Marlowe was even alive after a few days journey to town and back. It's what makes the rest of the film somewhat ridiculous in my eyes.

Still the stars perform admirably and they are the reason for watching Garden of Evil.


I bought this film on DVD in a local secondhand DVD shop,ours being region 2,i was surprised that you can not get this on region 1 area or region 0 which a lot of modern dvds are now,i suppose if you really look around you will find them.I thought the film was very good for 1954,the photography was good,the horse riding scenes on the cliffs were exciting,and the music was good,it was subtle and gradually built up to a climax,but never became to intense,the film was quite atmospheric almost as if you were with them,the directing was clever.the characters were interesting,five very different types of people all brought together.However i think i am the only female so far to wright a comment on this film ,and my point of view may differ.What i see is that the female character is acting in a very paranoid and agitated way ,and is trying to distance her self from them,which is how you would react if you were a woman travelling with four men you don't know,to her the enemies may not just be the Indian's in the mountains.The scene in where she is riding her horse and she looks round because she can hear Hooker and Friske laughing,believing it must be about her, says it all.I mean ,every time she makes a move to go anywhere one of them follows her,i don't think it has occurred to them that she may just want to go to the toilet,the only ulterior motive i can see her having is get me out of this uncomfortable situation,thats why she wanted to stay behind and stoke the fire,she was probably thinking give me some space.A good intriguing film any way.


My $10.99 three DVD set "Fox Western Classics" just arrived on Nov./18/2008. My first pick to watch was not Rawhide or The Gunfighter, the two black and white pictures in the collection, but rather the Technicolor, Garden of Evil.

The DVD print of Garden of Evil in the collection was gorgeous, unlike TV viewings of that movie I have seen. The "Fox Western Classics" DVD version of Garden of Evil reminded me in terms of picture quality of the first time I saw Garden of Evil, on a theater screen when it was originally released in 1954.

The movie itself is a fascinating story of greed, fear, honor, love, and lust. The on location scenery in Southern Mexico is spectacular (as seen on the DVD I referred to). The last 31 minutes of the movie in my opinion are the best. Those 31 minutes feature the 6 principle characters in the movie trying to save their lives by fleeing from the apaches who are following them and trying to kill them. Some of the six don't make it and are killed by the Apaches. To see who survives and why be sure to see the movie.

P.S. The prints of Rawhide and The Gunfighter the other two westerns in the collection are also very good.


I saw this film the year it first hit the theaters.

Anything that Cooper did in those days was OK with me.

and while this film was fairly typical of the westerns he made during that period, with the exception of "High Noon" which won him an Oscar, it had a darker cast and a sinister undertone that perfectly fit the locations in Mexico where it was filmed. Coop made several films in Mexico, including "Vera Cruz" with Bert Lancaster.

All entertaining to watch, but this one I especially liked.

It has the standard "coop gets the girl" ending, and some fairly corny mellowdrama, but by and large it was worthwhile, and even, in some ways, memorable.

My favorite scene is near the end of the film where Coop and his friends are fleeing from a hoard of Indians along a narrow trail that skirts the side of a mountain (perhaps special effects, perhaps a real place, I've often wondered), and someone has to stay behind to stand them off while the rest make it to safety. Coop, of course, volunteers, but Richard Widmark gets the call. Good shootumup.

The supporting case did its job well, and there were even moments when it was believable.

Altogether I would recommend it, if you like westerns.


Above average western yarn complete with an array of fine actors and a script rich in symbolic metaphors.

The cast features the likes of Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Susan Hayward, Cameron Mitchell, and Hugh Marlowe. Characters are deep and well-defined, in a superior character study of some of the deadly sins that destroy a person's mind and kills them, both spiritually and physically. Hayward is spot-on in her portrayal of a gold-digging femme fatale who turns strong men to jelly without even trying. Throughout the film, however, there is a hint she may have been misunderstood. Each of the men has his own individual weakness and demons.

She hires four men to rescue her husband from a mine shaft where he has been injured, and is under siege from an Indian tribe. She offers them gold from that mine as a reward, and their greed seals the contract. Look for cleverly utilized symbolism; my favorite is the town wiped out by a volcano-except for two things: a church steeple that rises above the destruction, and a gold mine hidden underground below the destruction. As you watch the movie, you'll see many more.

The inevitable battle with the hostiles provides plenty of good, old fashioned western action. It also has the film's only real weakness: it's glaringly obvious who's going to "get it," and the order of when they meet their ends. Epitaphs of lower status characters are written on the wall as soon as their usefulness to the story is completed.

It's a worth-while story, and well told. Certainly western fans will like this, but other viewers will, as well.


A film dealing with greed and envy. An all-star cast gets us through the plot.

With breathtaking scenery, Susan Hayward, as Leah, secures the aid of Cameron Mitchell, Gary Cooper and Richard Widmark in trying to free her trapped husband in a mining cave.

As the husband, Hugh Marlowe steals the acting in the film. He appears to be ungrateful when freed and lashes out at Hayward for bringing him into this situation.

The remainder of the film deals with the group trying to get back to civilization and away from the Indians who menace them. Of course, the bodies begin to mount.

A very young Rita Moreno appears in this film in one scene as a bar room singer.

Everyone seems to be aiding everyone else in the cause to survive. Interesting film but haven't we been down this road before?