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Reviews
Women at West Point (1979)
This movie goes off course
I could take roughly the first half of the movie as the new female plebes become acquainted with a whole new environment that is not going to cut them any slack, the upperclassmen Davidson (Andrew Stevens) and Palfrey (Jameson Parker) are no less committed to running out the weakest women than they are to running out the weakest men. The two upperclassmen assume a good cop/bad cop pose; Davidson is downright rooting for the women to make, while Palfrey is determined to run them out and preserve the all-male enviroment.
My problems begin when Jennifer Scott makes an error in announcing the night's menu. Davidson makes her correct herself, and is then impressed enough to wink at her. His flirting with her and their constant meetings, be it at a party or in some seemingly-secluded place in the library, violate regulations concerning plebe-upperclass relations (they're not supposed to converse except in the line of business)--but there is a way around this that is never brought out: Davidson can "recognize" her before June; they would be on a first-name basis even if they couldn't date.
Finally, there's Jennifer's remark in the newspaper that some of the male cadets are more immature than the females. She made a general statement which I expect has an element of truth and Palfrey, again. Goes overboard in his reaction.
What results is an atypical boy-girl relationship and it's not hard to imagine where this is going the following year. But for now, I want to see all the major things that happen over plebe year.
The Paper Chase: Once More with Feeling (1979)
Robert Reed was a serious actor
In response to a reviewer's observation that Robert Reed could have been a serious actor, let me just say that long before "The Brady Bunch" (1961-65, to be exact), he co-starred with E. G. Marshall as a father-and-son lawyer team on the acclaimed CBS series "The Defenders," a show which tackled such controversial issues as the right to an abortion. Probably those of you who grew up in the '70s are not aware of this. It somehow makes the portrayal of a law professor somewhat ironic. As for the episode itself, Reed's character of Professor Howard is respected for his scholarship but is clearly a scumbag in his personal life. And I think the reason Kingsfield waits so long to help Logan is that he wants evidence, not hearsay...a natural reaction if your mind is trained that way, and certainly hearsay would not hold up in court.
Meantime, Logan's frustration at getting anyone to believe her or to find another female student who will come forward is as compelling as Kingsfield's reluctance to get involved.
The Flintstones: The Snorkasaurus Hunter (1961)
Makes me wonder about another Hanna-Barbera casting decision
If you haven't guessed already, I'm referring to Top Cat. He was also modeled on Phil Silvers' Sgt. Bilko (heck, Maurice Gosfield, the voice of Benny the Ball, was Doberman on the Bilko show), so why not Jerry Mann as TC's voice? He had Silvers down to a T. I guess Arnold Stang was better-known, and he's just fine as TC (his voice is a little easier on the ear than Mann's), but it does leave me to wonder why Bill and Joe passed over a guy who was already working for them and wouldn't have to pay him as much. Oh, well. Top Cat is an overlooked gem which might have had a longer run in primetime except that not many adults were going to watch a show about animals at 8:30 PM. But I digress.