Wrongfully Accused (1998)

Leslie Nielsen is often thought of as one of the comedy greats. That's mainly thanks to his work in Airplane! and anything involving the tales of Police Squad (the superb, short-lived, series that led to the superb The Naked Gun films). But that success meant that he was also involved in more than his fair share of inferior work. Not that the likes of Spy Hard and Dracula: Dead And Loving It don't have their fans (with the former at least having a glorious opening title sequence accompanied by 'Weird' Al Yankovic delivering a great Bond song parody). But they're not on a par with the best films that made use of Nielsen's talents. I'm sure that one day I'll be brave enough to check out the likes of Mr. Magoo and 2001: A Space Travesty, but I think that day is a while off yet.

Wrongfully Accused is mainly a spoof of The Fugitive, but it also has time to gently mock the Mission: Impossible movies, The Usual Suspects, and Clear And Present Danger, among others. Not all of the gags land, of course, but it has a better hit rate than a lot of these movies that have been churned out over the past few decades.

Nielsen is Ryan Harrison, a man framed for murder. He knows that he is innocent, and he knows that the murderer was a one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed man (played by Aaron Pearl). Setting out to prove his innocence, Harrison is pursued by the doggedly determined Fergus Falls (Richard Crenna). He also finds himself potentially betrayed by two different women, Cass Lake (Melinda McGraw) and Lauren Goodhue (Kelly LeBrock).

It's always hard to review something like this, because it's a very simple approach to comedy, in many ways, and writer-director Pat Proft follows the usual approach of throwing enough gags around to ensure that at least some of them land. This is the only film directed by Proft, although he has written a lot of great films over the years (including, but not limited to, Police Academy, Real Genius, High School High, Hot Shots! and the best in the Scary Movie series). Proft knows his stuff, and this holds up as something that is a lot of fun for fans of all those other movies just mentioned. It may not be very clever, and a lot of the comedic targets meant that it felt a bit behind the times when it was released, but it WILL make you laugh. And that's a big plus for any comedy film.

Nielsen is fine in the lead role, doing his usual deadpan best most of the time, although he was already having a tendency to overdo the mugging and gurning at times, and the supporting cast work well with the material. LeBrock smoulders, but also happily overacts in response to what she claims is her powerful attraction to Harrison, and McGraw enjoys being the woman who may or may not get Harrison into a lot more trouble. Pearl is used as a walking set of props, basically (with the false leg, arm, and eye all used in different ways), and there are amusing little turns from Michael York, Sandra Bernhard, and a few others. Crenna is a highlight, helped by the fact that his character is never really made to act comedically while he wanders through some ridiculous situations and delivers some of the best dialogue in the film.

It will never creep up to near the top of your prioritised viewing list, but Wrongfully Accused is an easy slice of entertainment, and I highly recommend it to fans of silliness, spoofery, and Nielsen.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Accident (1967)

Although there are many similarities between this and The Servant (Losey directing, Pinter on the writing duties, Bogarde the star at the heart of things, the exploration of a very twisted situation intertwined with an essence of particular Britishness), Accident is also interesting for how much it does differently from that film. Everything is much more subtle, much more restrained, but that serves to highlight how much every word is loaded, and how everyone moves through society with the protection, and sometimes hindrance, of their own class role.

Bogarde plays Stephen, an Oxford professor. He takes an interest in a couple of his student. One is William (Michael York). The other is Anna (Jacqueline Sassard). William likes Anna very much. Unfortunately, Anna has also caught the eye of another professor (Charley, played by Stanley Baker). And so we get a tale told in flashback that shows the Laura-like effect Anna has on all the various men around her.

Based on the novel by Nicholas Mosley, Accident is a story that is worked by Pinter and Losey, because both complement one another perfectly, into something that plays out in a controlled and sedate manner, for the most part, with occasional moments to shock that are so effective it ends up taking you an extra minute or two to properly process what you've just watched. That is especially applicable to the way things unfold in the third act.

Bogarde is his usual good self, putting himself forward as a good man, despite the fact that his actions belie his self-image. Baker is superb, the more obvious baddie in a film that actually has very few good people in it, either due to direct actions or the inaction that enables certain behaviour. And York gives a performance slightly removed from his better-known roles. There's an insecurity sitting hidden beneath his usual layers of cockiness and charm, and he seems to be trying to both impress the professors around him while also competing against them at times. Sassard is perfect in her role, probably best described, certainly in the 1960s, as a "bewitching, exotic beauty". She has the look, and a lovely accent, but she also does very good work in the scenes that ask more of her. Vivien Merchant is the wife of Bogarde's character, and she embodies the old-fashioned kind of good wife who will support her husband without wanting to look any closer at some of his bad behaviour. Those who go looking for evidence of misdeeds may not like what they find.

A twisted and tragic tale, and also one that almost encourages you to observe and laugh at some of the ridiculous notions thought up by mature men who should know better, when not in the grip of infatuation, Accident is still depressingly relevant today. Married men excited by the prospect of young women who may take a fleeting interest in them, people projecting their own feelings and desires on to others, the husbands who think they are maintaining a fine marriage because everything is fine at home while they enjoy their indiscreet affairs, all of these things happen just as much now as they did back in the 1960s. So you're best to watch this film and remind yourself to avoid that kind of behaviour.

8/10

The Three Musketeers (1973)

The first of the swashbuckling collaborations between director Richard Lester and writer George Macdonald Fraser (and, of course, Alexandre Dumas), The Three Musketeers is an enjoyable romp that takes a cast of great stars and puts them into something that never quite hits the heights that it should.

Michael York is the young D'Artagnan, a swordsman who heads to Paris to fulfill his potential and make a good name for himself. Unfortunately, upon his arrival he seems to upset everyone he meets. He unwittingly ends up arranging to duel with Athos (Oliver Reed), Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) and Porthos (Frank Finlay) but then becomes friends with them when they all have to defend themselves against a bunch of Cardinal Richelieu's guards. And so begins the advenutres of D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers, adventures that will involve a beautiful woman named Constance (Raquel Welch), the ruthless Rochefort (Christopher Lee), the Cardinal (Charlton Heston) and the beautiful and scheming Milady (Faye Dunaway).

Made at the same time as the direct sequel, The Four Musketeers (much to the chagrin of the actors involved, who sued for money owed to them as they thought they'd just worked to make the one movie . . . . . . . though there seems to have been no bad blood as they would also get together again for The Return Of The Musketeers), this is the slightly better film but there's not that much in it. As I mentioned in my review of the sequel they all blend into one big, mildly amusing, swashbuckler.

The leads all have their obvious charms but the real pleasure here comes from a supporting cast that includes the likes of Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan and Rodney Bewes mixing with Simon Ward, Joss Ackland and Sybil Danning. Talk about an eclectic mix.

While it's hard to get too excited about, there's still certainly some easy pleasure in watching, for example, Oliver Reed have a bit of a drink and still swagger around, ready to lunge at anyone who engages him in swordplay. The film, and the sequels too, allows viewers to look at stars through rose-tinted glasses and to see them in roles that really play to their strengths. Michael York was always the handsome up and coming star, Richard Chamberlain was always relaxed and assured and Frank Finlay was always very entertaining. At least, that's how they have remained in my mind and that is how they are made to appear in this adventure.

Richard Lester may not have been the best director of this kind of material but he sure knew how to throw some big names together and let them have some fun. That fun is infectious, even if the actual movie never moves into top gear.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Musketeers-Four-Double-Blu-ray/dp/B005GJTLCS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1352912351&sr=8-3

The Four Musketeers (1974)

A star-studded cast, many of them returning to reprise their roles from The Three Musketeers, have a lot of fun in this swashbuckling romp that still provides decent entertainment today even if it has lost some of its magic. I remember liking this a lot more when I saw it some years ago but I can't guarantee that I have not confused it with the other films or just blended all of the movies (the two mentioned and also The Return Of The Musketeers) in to one big Musketeering party.

The plot is all about the musketeers, the scheming Milady, other schemers scheming and nations teetering on the brink of war. The details are unimportant, really, as this is more about a bunch of talented people having fun onscreen.

Director Richard  Lester once again works with a script by the talented George Macdonald Fraser (who has fun with the characters from the original Alexandre Dumas novel) and the emphasis is once again on big laughs, high drama and great stunts as opposed to historical accuracy and genuine tension.

And what of that all-star cast? The musketeers themselves are played by Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay and Michael York. Raquel Welch is the lovely Constance while Faye Dunaway is the beautiful and dangerous Milady. Christopher Lee is Rochefort and Charlton Heston has fun in the role of Cardinal Richelieu. There are also small roles for Simon Ward, Roy Kinnear, Geraldine Chaplin and Sybil Danning.

It's never dull but all involved have something better tucked away in their filmography, even if it's just one of the other Musketeer movies. Mind you, this is still a solid choice to brighten up your day when you're stuck indoors and the weather outside is miserable. It's almost like being reminded of how you could be as a child - boisterous, apparently indestructible and always ready to cut down enemies with rapier wit and an actual . . . . . . . . rapier (albeit a plastic one from the toyshop). I don't consider that a terrible thing.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Musketeers-Four-Double-Blu-ray/dp/B005GJTLCS/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1346922433&sr=8-15