Author Archives: Max West

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Max West

SCORE: 4/5 On many ‘best film noir’ lists, I thought I was going to hate this film due to the “racist white guy and good black guy” aspect of the film. Boy, was I wrong. Robert Wise’s late-era noir features … Continue reading →

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The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Max West

Score: 4/5 The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) is director Martin Ritt’s beautifully shot, b/w adaptation of John Le Carre’s Cold War spy thriller. It features a terrific Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, a jaded, alcoholic MI6 … Continue reading →

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Crashout (1955)

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Max West

Score: 4/5 Terrific hidden gem, B-movie thriller made by Standard Productions and directed by Lewis R. Foster. A cross-genre film, with some parallels to Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Prison breakout film, w film starting at the point of breakout. … Continue reading →

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Mad Debating Skilz

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Max West

A great blast from the past. You couldn’t make this shit up if you tried. “The 2014 Cross Examination Debate Association’s national championship was held at Indiana University.  The all African American female team from Towson University defeated the all … Continue reading →

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3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Max West

SCORE: 4/5 Loosely based on Elmore Leonard’s far leaner 1953 short story, 3:10 to Yuma (1957) is a superb adaptation directed by Delmer Daves. Shot gorgeously in crisp black and white, Director of Photography Charles Lawton Jr. effectively deploys Tolland/Wellesian-styled … Continue reading →

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Lenny (1974)

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Max West

SCORE: 4/5 Lenny (1974) is Bob Fosse’s well made, black and white biopic of Lenny Bruce (born Leonard Alfred Schneider), which is itself based on a play by Julian Barry. Dustin Hoffman does a terrific job channeling the manic energy … Continue reading →

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How the West Was Won (1962)

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Max West

SCORE: 3.5/5 How the West Was Won (1962) was a big budget, ‘5-part’ Western was co-directed by Henry Hathaway, John Ford, & George Marshall. Its all-star cast includes James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Debbie Reynolds, … Continue reading →

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The Molly Maguires (1970)

Posted on March 1, 2020 by Max West

SCORE: 4/5 Directed by Martin Ritt, with great leads and a solid supporting cast. Based on the real-life, Irish immigrants who were an extension of Ireland’s secret-society ‘Molly Maguires’, this extension being present in Pennsylvania’s coal-mining towns of the 1870s. … Continue reading →

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Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Max West

Of his own work in the movies, Lonely Are the Brave (1962) was Kirk Douglas’s favorite film, and for good reason. Douglas secured the rights to the film after reading the source novel, The Brave Cowboy (1956) by Edward Abbey, … Continue reading →

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Uncut Gems (2019) and Jewish Neuroticism

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Max West

I have an essay on this recent Adam Sandler film over at The Occidental Observer. An excerpt: The phenomenon of Jewish neuroticism, while often joked about in Jewish humor (e.g., Woody Allen, Larry David) or elaborated upon in Jewish literature … Continue reading →

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