Movie Review: ****The Sting 1973

This movie puts Paul Newman and Robert Redford back together for quite a ride.  In this film they play conmen, who are going to take down a notorious mobster.  However as the mobster has the  habit of killing people, they have to be very careful.  Robert Shaw portrays the mobster, and he is a really bad man, who makes people disappear at his orders.  Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford's character) is in the con for revenge.  He has been a small time con, who happened into mob money, and his partner was murdered.  They are looking for him as well.  Throughout the picture he is running from would be murderers.
A cute scene is when the have to come up with a Western Union office at the last moment.  They take over an office pretending to be painters.  (Ray Walston) plays the painter.
This movie is good, and entertaining, but perhaps the most entertainment is the use of Scott Joplin music.  His piano ragtime music is superb.  The song, "The Entertainer" is well known, and moves me every time I hear it.
This movie won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Musical Movie Review: ***Paint Your Wagon (1969)

This is not your blockbuster musical, but it does have its interesting parts.  This is an Lerner and Loewe musical (Alan Jay Lerner book and Frederick Loewe music).   Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood star as partners (Ben Rumson and Pardner) in the gold business, and then they take on a third partner, as Rumson buys a wife from a Mormon polygamist Jean Seberg as Elizabeth.  This is not a flattering portrayal of a Mormon polygamist but uses the stereotypic portrayal.  Eventual the partnership also become polygamous with two husbands and one wife.  This suits everyone until civilization comes to town, and Elizabeth wants a proper family.  Both men decide to leave, but when Pardner learns Rumson is leaving town, he stays.  Noted music includes “They Call the Wind Maria” and “I talk to the Trees.”  This show is cast as characters, not for singing ability.  However the saloon, Rotten Luck Willie (Harve Presnell)  who sings “Maria” does a good job.  Cast also includes Ray Walston as Mad Jack Duncan

Movie Review: ****Of Mice and Men

After reading the book, I decided to watch the movie.  To see some of this acted out, can be a bit disconcerting, so it has a PG-13 rating.  For the most part it doesn't show a lot of blood, but it does show violence.  This movie is available on Netflix Instant.  It stars Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lenny.
It is very true to the story, but it starts with the later flashback.  Lenny gets in trouble touching a woman's soft dress, and being accused of attempted rape.  A posse goes after George and Lenny, but they escape in a ditch.  They then show up close to a farm by Soledad, and are hired to help with the barley harvest. 
Soledad, loneliness, and that is what John Steinbeck portrays, is lonely, insecure people.  It shows us the boss' son Curley who is lonely, wishes he were bigger, is over jealous his new wife might  not be faithful, and is controlling and abuses her.  We see his wife, who is also lonely, not allowed to talk with anyone because of her husband's loneliness, the boss who gives the Black farm hand "hell" when anything goes wrong.  Candy, (Ray Walston) who has his old mutt for company.  However his mutt is blind, and stinks, and the other bunk mates don't like it and convince him to have the dog put down.  Carlson uses his pistol.  Slim, the foreman, who really doesn't have anyone, and the other ranch hands are all working to get their $50 so they can take it into town on blow it on beer and whores.  The saddest case is Crooks, the stable hand.  His back is crooked from having been kicked in the back by a horse.  He is African American, and has his own room, but is not allowed with the other men, and only has books to read.  He is lonely too, books aren't enough when you are aching for company.  We never see the boss' wife, or Curly's wife might have had a friend.  As such she wanders among the farm hands looking for companionship.
In this mess of people, Lenny, George and Candy make a plan to get away.  It just might work.  Candy has some money from his losing his hand, and saving up.  With the pay at the end of the month, they could swing getting their own place, where they could live and support each other.  If they could just make it to the end of the month.  This movie lacks some of the lines I liked from the movie.  It does have a similar ending; except George isn't met by the farm hands at the end, but sneaks off in a cargo train.