Secret Ceremony (released in 1968) - A tragic film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, and Peggy Ashcroft

'Ceremonia Secreta', the 1960 novel by Argentinean author Marco Denevi is the inspiration for the film Secret Ceremony, directed by Joseph Losey. The film opens with a blonde Elizabeth Taylor, who takes her wig off to reveal her lush black hair, as she places the hair piece on its stand; she caresses the black and white photograph of a young child - a girl, which is placed on the dresser. The character of Liz is Lenora, a prostitute, who a year ago has lost her daughter to death. As she boards a bus one day, a young girl (played by Mia Farrow) sits by her side, looking at her longingly, and whispering audibly ‘Mummy’ as Lenora alights from the bus; the girl follows her into a church - where she stands looking at Lenora from behind a pillar, as she kneels in a pew. Lenora looks slowly walks out of the church, into the cemetery, where she stops by the grave of a child, placing a bunch of blue forget-me-nots at the tomb. Lenora turns to find the girl from the bus standing behind her, when she looks into her eyes, in her mind; she sees the eyes of the child in the photograph. Shocked, she willingly lets the girl lead her away from the graveyard, to an opulent  Gothic style apartment.
Once there, Lenora sees photographs of the girl with her mother, who bears a strong resemblance to her. The man standing beside her - his face is blackened. Suddenly, the girl clutches her and cries out ‘mummy’ - stunned, Lenora pushes her away and tells her she’s not who she thinks she is. The girl just looks at her and when asked if she’d like some breakfast, she says yes, and when left alone, decides to pocket a silver coin and ermine coat - she even tucks into the breakfast hungrily. When the girl tells her that she lives all by herself - no cook, no nanny, no father - Lenora seizes the opportunity to take advantage of the child’s lapse of memory and plays along, fitting perfectly into the role of her mother. The girl reveals how Albert (apparently Lenora’s husband, and Cenci’s step-father) had behaved inappropriately - upon hearing which, Lenora slaps her - and shocked with her behavior, she apologizes to the crying girl. They both decide that she needs to take care of her - and so, Lenora settles in, making herself at home.




Once, when they are in the bath together, Cenci pretends her duck is drowning – this upsets Lenora, who asks her ‘what do you know about drowning?’ and starts to cry hysterically. In bed, Cenci says her prayers with her ‘mother’, and they settle down for an afternoon nap. When she awakens, she goes down to the kitchen, to see Cenci carrying out an animated conversation to … an empty chair. She appears to be warding off the advances of the ‘person’ in the chair - asking ‘him’ to take his hands off of her - Lenora is scared to see this crazed, psychotic banter.
Two nosy women - former sisters in law, come to pilfer on the pretext of looking up Cenci; as Lenora hides, the women get suspicious that there is someone in the house besides the girl - but who? They leave hurriedly.
In this surreal world, enter Albert (Robert Mitchum) - who may well be the reason why Cenci is a disturbed child. When she gingerly peeps through a window one morning after hearing the bell ring - she sees an almost derelict and unkempt man in the front lawns. He leaves when she doesn’t let him in. One morning, Leonora pays a visit to Cenci’s aunts who had come to the house - telling them she was a cousin of their sister-in-law Margaret. She learns a lot from them, especially that Albert and Cenci had an incestuous relationship, which probably drove the girl mad and killed Margaret with grief. The aunts, of course, think the girl’s crazy - Leonora is hurt by this observation, and tells them that if they were to visit again - she would tell the police. While she was out, Albert comes home, telling Cenci he cannot help himself, as he kisses her. Leonora goes to church and  prays for strength to go back to the house, not for the money, but for the fact that she wants to protect Cenci - she wants to be there to ‘save’ her, unlike her own child. But after being abused, Cenci orders that Leonora leave the house -killing herself by overdosing on sleeping pills, which she downs with milk.
When Leonora attends the funeral, visibly shattered, Albert tells her that Cenci was responsible for the break - up with Margaret - that the child-woman had nymphomaniacal tendencies - this is the final straw for Leonora, who lashes out at the man and tries to kill him. Macabre, disturbing and sad, the movie does play on the audience sentiment, and one feels sorrier for Leonora, for having lost two ‘children’. Serious watch.

5 Card Stud (released in 1968) - Starring Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum and Inger Stevens

“Five card stud” is the earliest known game of card poker, so no guesses with regard to what the plot is: Cards and a few handsome men thrown in for good measure! Directed by Henry Hathaway, the story of the movie is sourced from a book by Ray Gaulden and is also a remake of a Charlton Heston debut film ‘Dark City’ (1950). In the current movie, Dean Martin plays the role that Heston assayed in the original film; Martin’s character is similar to the one he played in ‘Some Came Running’. The story of the film bears resemblance even to two works by Agatha Christie. Yet, the movie was captivating, although the story line was not unique, it was accepted and appreciated by movie going audiences of the time.
The film opens with seven men at a game of cards, in a typically western saloon, in 1880 in a town in Colorado. Van Morgan (played by Dean Martin) chooses to spend Saturday evening with the boys - his partners are Nick Evers (his girlfriend’s brother, played by Roddy McDowell), stableman Joe Hurley (played by Bill Fletcher), Mace Jones (played by Roy Jenson), storekeeper Fred Carson (played by Boyd Morgan) and Nick’s ranch hand Stoney Borough (played by George Robotham). They have a new partner, Frankie Rudd (played by Jerry Gaitlin); all’s well up until the time that Nick catches Rudd cheating, although the barkeeper – George, warns him - Frankie earns himself a cruel fate, meted out by  none other  than the men at the table - they drag him out to  stream and hang him near a bridge. "You don't hang a cheat," Morgan growls, "you kick him out of town." But the men ignore Morgan, who is knocked out cold. He is left on the boardwalk, where Mama Malone (played by Ruth Springford) finds him in the morning – she calls George who helps the weather-beaten Van to his room. Lacking courage to inform the town marshal, he leaves for Denver.




Sometime later, Morgan returns, and to his horror, learns that there have been two deaths – of the men who were at the game that night; it seems like they are revenge killings: strangulation by barbed wire, stuffed into a barrel of flour (ingenious!), each death more horrific than the other, till only he would remain alive, the others were all about to be strategically bumped off! Also, the town has acquires a gun slinging priest Jonathan Rudd (Robert Mitchum) - who, Van discovers later is none other than the murdered man Frankie’s brother. On the other hand, Nick is convinced that the killer was in some way related to the man he killed: so, it seems logical that he try and hunt him down. Who could it be - there’s a gold rush on, and with so many strangers in town, it’s hard to tell!
Although they were together that evening at the game, Nick has no love lost for Van Morgan, who happens to be dating his sister Nora (Katherine Justice). But it isn’t brotherly love or concern that he is seething with - in fact he hates Nora and his father. His angst is that if Nora were to marry, the rambling ranch and all its wealth would be inherited by his sister - leaving him out in the cold. He’d rather that Nora married someone he, Nick, chose. That way, the poor unsuspecting creature could easily be put out of the way and Nick would have no worries. A string fella like Morgan wouldn’t be that easily taken care of!
Nick chooses to play dirty, and discloses the names of the perpetrators to Jonathan, hoping he’d kill Van Morgan, making his life easier! He even beguiles Rudd by telling him a far fetched version of that night where it was Nick who tried to talk sense into the men and he who was knocked out trying to save Frankie. Is the real killer brought to justice? Is Frankie’s spirit finally at rest? Western-mystery-thriller-noir- an interesting package, worth the watch!

Anzio (released in 1968) - War film starring Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Peter Falk

The film is based on Operation Shingle, carried out in 1944 by the Allied Troops on the port of Anzio on Italy’s west coast, in WWII. Details have been sourced from the book of the same name by former BBC War Correspondent and author Wynford Vaughn-Thomas. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and Duilio Coletti, it is an Italian-American co-production. Dick Ennis (played by Robert Mitchum) is a war weary, yet battle hardened reporter, through whose experienced eyes we see the plot unfold. The film opens with Ennis being dropped off in a jeep, uniformed with purpose-ridden strides; he climbs a flight of stairs and crosses opulent halls, the décor and ambiance reek Italian Renaissance sophistication. But out of the blue, GIs and their girls dot the scene in sizable numbers, one in a bid to defy gravity, hanging from majestic chandeliers, while others egg him on. Just then the Canadian Rangers along with Corporal Jack Rabinoff (played by Peter Falk) enter the chaotic hall, only to be welcomed by some GI-style muscle flexing.
Elsewhere, the sullen and cynical journalist Dick Ennis, enjoys a long swig out of a long necked bottle of wine, and he has for company Technical Sergeant Abe Stimmler (played by Earl Holliman) with the two of them seem wrapped in heavy discussion, as if the revelers never existed! The movie is about American's invasion of Anzio as seen through the eyes of a pacifist journalist (this was like real battle, not the movie style where things move only as the heroes want - read more about the Operation Shingle, the invasion of Anzio). The landing is unopposed, and Mitchum requisitions a jeep and, along with Falk, discover that the road to Rome, the ultimate destination, is open. Rome can be in Allied hands in a few days, if they move fast enough.




It is Ennis’s assignment to do a story about the US Rangers and their strategy to break down defenses of the enemy. Lieutenant General Carson (played by Robert Ryan) is commanding the Fifth Army, and strategizing their move behind enemy lines; news is that the Allied Troops are being hammered by the Germans at the Gustav Line, lead by the almost invincible Monte Cassino. Maj. General Jack Lesley (played by Arthur Kennedy) orders a drive inland to the Alban Hills that provide a vantage point, from where the beachhead (discovered by Ennis to be virtually trouble-free) provides direct access to Rome. However, Lesley is way off the mark since he realizes he lacks the resources needed to march and capture Rome.
The German commander Kesselring (played by Wolfgang Preiss) re-musters forces and ambushes the Allies, at the Battle of Cisterna, the Germans won hands down. Almost 400 American POWs were captured by the Germans, in real life. The movie is about Ennis’s battle to escape alive from behind enemy lines; however, most of the men are killed or captured, whilst a few escape, after a near brush with death in the guise of a minefield.
Dick Ennis questions, then, publicly the decisions taken by the higher command, to gamble away the lives of the American and Allied Troops - he questions why humans fight one another? The New York Times review remarked that Anzio was “Standard War Fare” - a fair view considering that the battle at Anzio was bloodied beyond belief, and was avoidable, the film seems to allude to the genre of usual ‘good guys beat the hell outta the bad guys’ ploy - but it fails miserably, as in reality, the good guys were outnumbered and out maneuvered.

Villa Rides (released in 1968) - Starring Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum and Charles Bronson

Francisco Villa or Pancho Villa was a famous Mexican Revolutionary general, who was active in the years between 1910 and 1919. Directed by Buzz Kulik, the film is a biographical montage of the life of José Doroteo Arango Arámbula - a famous figure in Mexican history and legend. In reality, Villa was treated contemptuously by the law, although the peasant folk, commoners and soldiers respected him for his Robinesque mentality - he would steal from the rich to fill the stomachs of the poor. The film is sourced from William Douglas Lansford’s biography titled ‘Pancho Villa’ (1965); Douglas even assisted in the early draft of the film in 1968.
The year is 1912, and the Mexican Revolutionaries are fighting battles on many fronts - including the moral; caught in this crossfire is American pilot and adventurer Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) - who, in true capitalist spirit, sees no harm in supplying arms and ammunition to counter-revolutionaries like Capt. Francisco Ramirez, smuggling the contraband across the border from Texas, in his WWI pursuit plane, he is paid in gold for his aid. On one such mission, as he is awaiting the repair of the landing gear of his plane, Lee is witness to the violent attack and razing of a village by the Captain and his men (because the villagers curried favor with the insurrectionist Pancho Villa).




Yul Brynner assays the role of Villa; his famous bald pate is given a miss in the film as he sports a toupee and moustache. As in real life, Villa assists General Huerta (Herbert Lom), and has a brutal sidekick in the form of Lt. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson). Ramirez and his men are defeated by Villa, and even Lee Arnold is taken captive by Fierro - who longs for nothing more than to kill him. He is sentenced for gun-running, to face a firing squad. In order to save his skin, Lee strikes a deal to aid the insurrectionists in their revolution - he would provide them with the guns, instead, fighting on their side. On one such revolutionary escapade, Lee provides air cover to the guerillas as they capture an enemy train carrying troops, and eventually as they make captive an entire town.
There are cracks in every revolution - General Huerta deeply dislikes Villa, believing him to be manipulative and success-seeking. He is furious when Villa captures the town despite the General’s orders not to - causing heavy casualties. Soon after, Huerta plots to send Villa on a doomed mission to capture Conejos, in a bid to ensure he is not around when the General overthrows the government and President Madero - however, Arnold’s aerial assistance saves the day, even though Villa loses many men. And to the General's delight - Villa is captured by him, and Lee crosses the border into El Paso, saving his skin in time!
Now clear about his boss’s intentions, Pancho escapes imprisonment and hunts down Lee, on whose support he has come to rely deeply. A reluctant Arnold agrees to help Villa once more - the Revolutionaries have a new cause: to do away with Huerta, now a self styled dictator after he has assassinated the Mexican president and seized power. Later Arnold also helps Villa raise an army against another enemy of the Mexican state - Emiliano Zapata.
Criticized for its cosmetic portrayal of the Revolution and for not really exploring the many perspectives there exist with regard to it, the film may at least be applauded for its precise portrayal of Villa, who was less a hero and more a man on the run, a hardened criminal known for his thirst for violence.

FireCreek (released in 1968) - starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda, directed by Vincent McEveety

This movie was released in 1968, and has Henry Fonda and James Stewart essaying the leading roles. The leading pair are cast as chief antagonist's and are pitted in a good Vs bad gun battle. As the story begins, Johnny Cobb is a mild mannered farmer who acts as a sheriff to a gentle community of Fire creek. He is a family man with his wife Henrietta in the family way. He moves around with a tin badge hammered out by his kids which spells “Sheraf” instead of sheriff. He is pretty embarrassed by these shows of affection.
In to this idyllic town ride the thugs, Larkin, Drew, Norman, Earl and Willard. They are raging psychopaths who shoots up the town. The ring leader Larkin is wounded and has to lie low to get well. He is disgusted with the behavior of his gang but does little to stop them. Larkin is ministered by Evelyn a kindly land lady who fearlessly speaks about the atrocities committed by the hoodlums.
John Cobb does his best to keep peace within the town. Soon the gang members disrupt church services, and beat up the towns people. Things get ugly when Meli, an Indian women is raped by the gang member. Albert a stable boy who witness this gruesome sight, inadvertently kills him. Cobb locks up Albert to put him on trial. But as he leaves town to visit his pregnant wife the gang forcibly enter the prison and lynches Albert. Then the gang tries to take over the town completely.



This cowardly act enrages the sheriff who try to arrest the perpetrators. Soon a gun battle ensues in which the sheriff takes the lone stand. He shoots Drew, Earl, Norman and Willard. Larkin wounds the sheriff but still he manages to kill Larkin. Soon the whole town is energized and they fight the thugs out.
The movie is supposed to be thriller, but is little too long. This is one of the few films which Fonda plays the antagonist and has worked with his real life buddy James Stewart.

Yours, Mine and Ours (released in 1968) starring Lucille ball and Henry Fonda - romance between people with large families

This movie was an inspiration from a real life fairy tale romance between two widowers, Fran Beardsley and Helen North who combine their families of ten and eight children respectively to live happily ever after.
Frank Beardsley (played by Henry Fonda) is a Roman Catholic Naval officer who is assigned shore duty as a project officer to develop a standard equipment in all aircraft carriers nicknamed the “meatball”. Helen North played by Lucille ball is a Roman Catholic nurse whose husband tragically dies in a naval accident. Frank Beardsley brings his distraught daughter to her hospital for treatment and Helen comforts her. She remarks that the lack of maternal guidance is responsible for her depression and this gets the both parents talking. Both Frank and Helen hit it off and go on dates with out disclosing the fact that they are bringing up big families all on their own.
They try to call off their relationship on learning about their respective children. But with the intervention of their friend chief warrant officer Darell Harrison, they start dating again and began contemplating marriage. Frank runs his house as a tight ship and has all rules in place. But when Helen visits them his elder sons, Mike, Greg and Rusty mix vodka in her drink to make her behave in an wild and embarrassing manner. Soon their game is up when Frank chances upon their trick and an angry Frank announces his decision to marry Helen.



The children from both sides are against this union and regard each household suspiciously. There are many misunderstandings and tiffs which threatens to break up Helen and Frank. But they all come together when they come to know about Helen's pregnancy and support each other. The elder Beardsley children guide and form a role model for the North children. Another storm brews in the mean time with a mean minded teacher taunting Phillip North to change his surname to Beardsley. The North children are aghast and refuse Franks decision for cross adoption. But the arrival of their small baby brother Joseph John Beardsley unites them again with all of them agreeing for adoption under a common name.
The film ends with Mike Beardsley moving out of the house fully grown up to attend the camp for joining the marines. This movie was a true life adaption of Helen Beardsley's book “who gets the Drum stick?”. In fact the movie was so entertaining that Frank Beardsley is said to have remarked that the movie was a better story than truth.
On release the movie was not received well by the critics but was a hit at the box office. It collected so much profits that Lucille ball who never anticipated such a large collection never made a tax shelter for herself. This resulted in the dwindling of her share of profits.
A feel good movie, it is a fore runner and inspiration for many shows like The Brady Bunch and was remade in 2005 with Dennis Quaid and Renee Russo. It still remains a hit in the DVD circuit.