Clooney’s masterstroke was in not casting an actor to portray McCarthy, but rather using actual news footage.  And, really, McCarthy’s stumbling, sweating, paranoid visage would probably come across to audiences as unbelievable if even the most gifted performer were to attempt to re-create it.  Succinct at 92 minutes and nearly devoid of fat, GN&GL is a sharply portrayed glimpse of the network news game of the 1950’s, and even if Murrow comes across as a little too good to be true at times, the movie is still recommended for anyone who thinks the days of politicians using slander and bullying tactics to destroy lives are long in the past.  Clooney plays Murrow’s boss Fred Friendly, and Langella is properly menacing as CBS president William Paley, who begrudgingly allowed Murrow and Friendly to go after the powerful Washington figure.  Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson play a couple keeping their marriage a secret in accordance to CBS’ non-fraternization rules.  Also with Jeff Daniels, Ray Wise as doomed newscaster Don Hollenbeck, Tom McCarthy, Tate Donovan, Reed Diamond, Robert Knepper and Glenn Morshower.  There’s no score, but Dianne Reeves’ jazz singer serves as a sort of Greek chorus.

THE GOOD SON (1993)--Directed by Joseph Ruben. Stars Macauley Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson. Culkin's dad Kit forced 20th Century-Fox to cast Mac in this tepid thriller before he would sign the contract for HOME ALONE 2. Macauley is admittedly not too bad in this BAD SEED-with-a-gender-switch, but the film just doesn't come together anyway. Wood goes to New England to stay with his cousin's family after his mother dies and his father travels overseas. His cousin (Culkin) is a ten-year-old psycho who tries to kill his siblings, causes an interstate pileup and even tries to murder his own mom! Also with David Morse, Daniel Hugh-Kelly and Quinn Culkin. Music by Elmer Bernstein. From the director of SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)--Directed by Sergio Leone. Stars Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach. The third installment of the Leone/Eastwood "spaghetti western" trilogy is the best of the three, as well as one of the all-time great westerns. Set during the Civil War, this epic contains more humor than the previous two entries, due mostly to Wallach's presence, as well as Leone's striking desert landscapes, elaborate battle scenes, and strong statements against war and religion. The Man With No Name competes with two other gunfighters (Van Cleef and Wallach) in a race to find a stash of stolen gold. The climax with the three men facing down one another in a graveyard is one of filmdom's most exciting endings. Of the leads, only Wallach has much dialogue; however, all three give terrific performances. Eastwood--the good--is laconic and tense. Van Cleef--the bad--properly steely-eyed. Wallach--the ugly--ruthless, yet not too bright. Ennio Morricone contributed the memorable score.

THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)--Directed by Herbert Ross. Stars Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings. Dreyfuss won a Best Actor Oscar for his funny portrayal of a struggling New York stage actor who finds himself living with dancer Mason and her smart-aleck ten-year-old daughter (Cummings). The relationship between Dreyfuss and Mason begins in antagonism as the insults and wisecracks fly freely; of course, they end up madly in love with each other. An original screenplay by Neil Simon. Also with Barbara Rhoades, Nicol Williamson and Paul Benedict (hilarious as a crazed director who demands that Dreyfuss play Richard III as a flaming homosexual). Hit title song by David Gates. Nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and Supporting Actress (Cummings).

GOR (1988)--Directed by Fritz Kiersch.  Stars Urbano Barberini, Rebecca Ferratti, Oliver Reed, Jack Palance.  If you make it to the end of this dull barbarian fantasy, you'll be treated to a cameo by a wasted-looking Palance in a ridiculous hat.  It was to set up the sequel, OUTLAW OF GOR.  In GOR, Barberini plays a wimpy college professor who is magically transported to the land of Gor, where he miraculously becomes an expert fighter overnight and teams up with a sexy slave girl (Ferratti) and her colleagues to topple the reign of evil king Reed.  Despite a great number of action scenes and scantily clad women, GOR is not nearly as exciting as you might think.  Watching an obviously inebriated Reed stumble around does provide some entertainment value, however.  Also with Donna Denton, Paul Smith and Arnold Vosloo.  Cannon released this Harry Alan Towers production based on the GOR novels by John Norman.

GORDON’S WAR (1973)--Directed by Ossie Davis.  Stars Paul Winfield, Carl Lee, David Downing, Tony King.  The late Paul Winfield, nominated for an Oscar the year before for SOUNDER, contributes another strong performance as Gordon, a Green Beret who returns from Vietnam to learn his wife has died from a drug overdose--a habit she picked up while Gordon was overseas. Overcome with grief, he organizes a group of three Army buddies and makes war on the pimps and pushers of the neighborhood, including the colorfully named Big Pink, Luther the Pimp, and the dude who runs Harlem's action: druglord Spanish Harry (Gilbert Lewis).

Grittier and less cartoony than many other black action flicks of the era, GORDON'S WAR benefits from some of the seediest New York locations ever put on film (also a highlight of Davis' previous directorial effort), nice chemistry among the four leads--Winfield, Carl Lee as poetry-reading Bee, Tony King as behemoth Roy and David Downing as wisecracking Otis--and a serious approach by scripters Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman (white guys who created TV's KUNG FU). There's no shortage of violence either, the highlights being a brutal leg-breaking and an exciting car/motorcycle chase through the streets of Harlem.  Reportedly, Davis was fired during production and replaced by television director Bruce Kessler, who may have shot those scenes.  Music by Angelo Badalemente (TWIN PEAKS) using a “Andy Badale” pseudonym and Al Elias. 

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954)--Directed by Harmon Jones.  Stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Raymond Burr, Lee J. Cobb, Peter Whitney.  20th Century Fox produced this idiotic 3D mystery in gorgeous Technicolor.  I’m sure it looked ridiculous to 1950s audiences, but it induces howls today, thanks to its remarkable cast of soon-to-be stars.  Is it a gorilla or someone dressed in a gorilla suit who is murdering members of Cy Miller’s (Burr) carnival?  Since the main attraction is supposed to be a real gorilla, but is played by George Barrows in a suit, how can anyone tell?  Gruff detective Garrison’s (Cobb) main suspects are blond barker Joey (top-billed Mitchell) and brutish gorilla trainer Kovacs (Whitney).  Disney’s MIGHTY JOE YOUNG remake ripped off the ending of this movie.  Bancroft is smokin’ as Burr’s acrobat wife with great legs.  Lee Marvin is a dimwitted comic-relief cop.  Warren Stevens and John Beradino also play cops.  Sure, it’s a dumb movie by the director of DON’T WORRY, WE’LL THINK OF A TITLE, but a must-see for trash-movie fans.  Also with Billy Curtis, Charlotte Austin, John Kellogg and Chuck Couch.

GORKY PARK (1983)—Directed by Michael Apted.  Stars William Hurt, Joanna Pacula, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Ian Bannen.  Based on a best-seller by Martin Cruz Smith, GORKY PARK is a murder mystery involving a Moscow detective, Arkady Renko (Hurt), who is saddled with a case of three faceless corpses found frozen in a park.  It’s one of those cases that can bring nothing but heartache to the man investigating it, due to the brutality and the political aspects of it, since it appears as though the KGB may be heavily involved.  In addition to his former KGB superior (Bannen), with whom he has a tumultuous relationship, Renko’s list of suspects and obstacles includes Jack Osborne (Marvin), an American millionaire who trades in Soviet sables; William Kirwill (Dennehy), a New York cop with a personal interest in the murders; and Irina (Pacula), who was friendly with all three victims.  Shooting in snowy Finland and Sweden, Apted does a terrific job of handling Dennis Potter’s complex plot and characters, as well as coaxing strong, consistent performances from his disparate cast.  Renko appeared as the hero in several more Smith mysteries, but none have yet been adapted to film.  Music by James Horner.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN (2003)--Directed by Philip Saville.  Stars Henry Ian Cusick, Stuart Bunce, Christopher Plummer.  Remember when you were nine years old and sitting in Sunday School class listening to stories of Christ and his apostles?  Remember how you realized deep down that you were learning something of great weight and importance, but all you really wanted to do was slip out of church, change out of the nice clothes your mom laid out that morning into shorts and your CONAN THE BARBARIAN T-shirt, and spend the day playing baseball?  I felt like pounding my mitt about twenty minutes into this ponderous three-hour Biblical epic.

Reportedly adapted by John Goldsmith, whose credits also include film versions of DAVID COPPERFIELD and GREAT EXPECTATIONS, word-for-word from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible, GOSPEL feels more like a lesson than a film, overly burdened with a maddening narration by Christopher Plummer that had me ready to tear my heart out.  Hiring the great Canadian actor Plummer (THE INSIDER), whose mellifluous tones could sooth even the hardiest of souls, was a good idea.  Exactly interpreting the Good News Bible (which I haven't read) was a very bad one.  Director Philip Seville (METROLAND) isn't content to show us Jesus (Henry Ian Cusick) walking on water or changing water into wine; he has Plummer inform us of it too, I suppose for the benefit of the blind members of the audience.  The narration is so simpleminded, it even describes to us mundane tasks.  It literally tells us things like, "Jesus said...", followed by Cusick's dialogue.  "And then Jesus turned to the crowd," as Jesus--guess what?--turns to the crowd.  "And then Marty's eyelids began to close, as the combination of Christopher Plummer's restful voice and the complete lack of compelling drama assaulted his attention span."

I'm not sure whether to blame Goldsmith or the Good News Bible for the often atrocious dialogue that occasionally interrupts Plummer's monologue.  I swear this exchange actually happened:

Jesus Christ: "Tear this temple down, and, in three days, I will build another."
Other Guy: "Will you rebuild this temple in three days?"

Admittedly, hearing aids weren't available to the masses in the year 1 B.C., but three hours of this is not the way I wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon.

The cast, led by Cusick, Stuart Bunce as John, Daniel Kash as Simon Peter and an actress who is neither young nor beautiful enough to play Mary, appear to be giving their all, but not enough to escape the small-town Passion Play trappings of their material.  As Christ, Cusick falls somewhere between Jeffrey Hunter and Ted Neeley; handsome and reassuring, Cusick, who looks a little like Ralph Fiennes, plays the Savior not as the charismatic force I would imagine He really was, but as a gentle, good-humored social worker.  Miroslaw Baszak's camera nicely captures the Spanish countryside, which probably looks more like ancient Jerusalem than Jerusalem does, while Jeff Danna's lovely score provides some majesty the script and direction do not.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN may be historically accurate, although a printed prologue attempts to head off any charges of anti-Semitism, but dramatically it's a bore.  Your mileage may vary.  I'd rather field grounders.

GOTCHA! (1985)--Directed by Jeff Kanew. Stars Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Alex Rocco. Engaging comedy/adventure about an ordinary college student (Edwards) who becomes involved in a game of international intrigue and a sexy, slightly older woman (Fiorentino). Shot on location in Paris and East Berlin. From the director of REVENGE OF THE NERDS.

THE GRADUATE (1967)--Directed by Mike Nichols. Stars Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels. Dated but essential comedy about a college graduate (Hoffman) unsure about what he wants to do with his life. He scorns his family's upper-class friends, but is seduced by one of them (Bancroft), and eventually falls in love with her daughter (Ross). Was a smash hit when originally released, thanks mostly to the witty screenplay by Nichols, Buck Henry and Calder Willingham and to some outstanding songs by Simon and Garfunkel, which are seamlessly interwoven into the film. This was Hoffman's first major role and Nichols's second film. Look for a young Richard Dreyfuss in a tiny role. "Plastics!"

GRAND THEFT AUTO (1977)Directed by Ron Howard. Stars Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Barry Cahill, Clint Howard, Peter Isacksen, Paul Linke. "Nobody's faster! He's a high-speed disaster!" Opie's first film as a director was part of a deal with New World Pictures head Roger Corman. Howard agreed to star in EAT MY DUST! if Corman would allow him to direct a similar drive-in picture. As long as Ron agreed to star in the film as well as direct, that was A-OK with Rog, who gave comparable breaks to Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich and Francis Ford Coppola, among others.

Howard's reputation for getting more bang for his bucks must have started on GRAND THEFT AUTO, as cars chase, crash, smash and blow up with surprising regularity. He plays Sam Freeman, a poor youth engaged to be married to Paula Powers (fresh-faced Morgan), the daughter of snobbish gubernatorial candidate Bigby Powers (Cahill). When Bigby opposes his daughter's marriage--he's already arranged her engagement to whiny polo player Collins Hedgeworth (Linke)--Paula steals his Rolls Royce, and makes a mad dash with Sam for Vegas to elope--a feat made more difficult by an army of pursuers after a $25,000 bounty offered by Bigby.

Reportedly filmed in 15 days for $600,000, GRAND THEFT AUTO is decent drive-in fare with enough broad humor and car crashes to keep audiences awake. It isn't particularly sophisticated, but it is quickly paced by Howard (who also penned the script with his actor father Rance) and sharply edited by Joe Dante, who would soon begin directing New World pictures himself (HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD). Morgan, who married John Ritter, oddly didn't go on to have much of a film career, but Howard gets goofy supporting performances from his brother Clint and Peter Isacksen (the tall doofus from CPO SHARKEY) as a pair of hot-rodding idiots, Hoke Howell as a greedy minister and TV mom Marion Ross (HAPPY DAYS) as a rich woman who wrestles a cop.

Also with Elizabeth Rogers, Rance Howard, Ken Lerner, Paul Bartel, Robby Weaver (son of actor Dennis Weaver, with whom Clint Howard starred on the GENTLE BEN series), Leo Rossi, Jim Begg, DJ Don Steele (basically reprising his DEATH RACE 2000 role) and HAPPY DAYS producer Garry Marshall as a mobster. The funky score by Peter Ivers makes me wonder why he never again worked in film. Dante, producer Jon Davison (AIRPLANE!), second unit director Allan Arkush (ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL) and unit production manager Michael Finnell (THE HOWLING) went on to work together several times in various combinations. Howard's next directorial efforts were in television until breaking through with the hilarious NIGHT SHIFT in 1982. He more or less retired from acting then.

GRANDVIEW, U.S.A. (1984)--Directed by Randal Kleiser. Stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Troy Donahue, Jennifer Jason Leigh. A well-known cast propels this uninteresting drama about a teenager (Howell) who becomes involved with an older woman (Curtis). Curtis runs the local demolition derby, which is to be torn down and replaced with a country club by Howell's father (Donahue). The small-town flavor is authentic (film was partially shot in Pontiac, Illinois), but the plot and situations are silly, and I can't buy a beautiful, intelligent woman like Curtis falling for a teenager.

GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1972)--Directed by John Hayes. Stars William Smith, Michael Pataki, Lyn Peters, Diane Holden, Kitty Vallacher. This low-budget sleeper seems fairly difficult to find these days, but some strong performances and a high body count make it worth the hunt.

After beginning with a blue MPAA rating card (it's a PG!), the film opens in the late 1940s as two young lovers, who have hidden themselves away in a cemetery for a few hours of privacy, are attacked by a vampire (Pataki). The man is killed--his body drained of its blood--and the woman, Leslie (Vallacher), is raped. The vampire is believed to be one Caleb Croft, a murderer and rapist who had been accidentally killed three years before. Leslie becomes pregnant as a result of the rape, and is advised by her doctor to abort it. She refuses, and later gives birth to a baby boy with gray skin and a taste for blood. Flash-forward a couple of decades, and we discover the now-adult James (Smith) has been circling the globe in an effort to find his father and kill him out of revenge. James discovers Croft, now using the name Lockwood, teaching a night class on the occult at a local university. James enters the class, and makes the acquaintance of a pair of beautiful students, carefree Anita (Holden) and cerebral English teacher Anne (Peters), who just happens to resemble Croft's late wife.

Although the film's shoestring budget is betrayed by its cheap-looking sets, some amateurish performances by bit players, and unexceptional photography, GRAVE has much to recommend, starting with its two leads. Pataki is marvelously malevolent, but succeeds in creating a slight level of sympathy for Croft as he grieves for his late wife. Smith is, of course, a tragic hero, forced to stick to the shadows and afraid to become emotionally involved with other humans, since he can never be sure he won't break his diet of raw meat and give in to his craving for human blood. Holden has some nice moments as she discovers the life of a vampire isn't quite as glamorous as she thinks.

While most of the murders take place with the weapons held just below camera range (I'm not sure why Hayes was so intent on securing a PG rating), GRAVE is actually quite brutal at times, and boasts a spectacular climax that must have given Pataki and Smith bruises for days. The screenplay by Hayes and David Chase, the Emmy-winning creator of THE SOPRANOS and author of the novel upon which GRAVE is based, contains some nifty dialogue, and is perhaps more thoughtful that it needed to be. Jaime Mendoza-Nava's score is properly atmospheric.

Also with Lieux Dressler (KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS), Eric Mason, William Guhl, Margaret Fairchild and a bushy-haired Carmen Argenziano. From the director of the evocatively titled MAMA'S DIRTY GIRLS and JAILBAIT BABYSITTER. The VHS print used by CIC Video is dark and faded, and contains many splices and markings on the film itself. I don't know whether it is cut or not, although it appears complete. The clamshell video box misspells the cast's names as "Mike" Pataki, "Lynn" Peters and "Dianne" Holden. Although the film seems to have been re-released theatrically in 1981 as SEED OF TERROR, GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE may not have been its original title, since it appears during the opening credits on a separate card that doesn't match the rest of the titles.

THE GRAVY TRAIN--See THE DION BROTHERS.

THE GRAY GHOST (1957)—Directed by Frank McDonald.  Stars Tod Andrews, Phil Chambers, Jean Willies.  CBS broadcast 39 episodes of this half-hour adventure series set during the Civil War.  Andrews starred as John Singleton Mosby, a real-life Confederate spy known in the North and the South as the “Gray Ghost,” because of his highly effective guerrilla tactics.  In the pilot episode, Mosby kidnaps a Union general to use in a prisoner exchange and save beautiful spy Ansonia (Willes) from the hangman’s noose.  Production values are decent, and Mosby expert Virgil Carrington Jones is on hand to maintain a semblance of authenticity.  The problem is that there’s little reason to root for Mosby.  Setting aside the idea that he’s on the side of slavery, we already know the Confederacy lost, and the Union officers seen in the pilot seem like decent men.  Why should we want the Gray Ghost to win?  Perhaps giving Mosby an evil rival in blue would have put the audience in his corner.  Douglas Dick, Mark Dana and Willis Bouchey co-star in the premiere.  Lindsley Parsons was the executive producer.

GREASE (1978)--Directed by Randal Kleiser. Stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing. This screen musical based on a successful Broadway play about teenage life in the '50s was a box-office hit (it's the top-grossing movie musical ever made), but I find it to be boring and crudely made. Newton-John is no actress, and the rest of the cast, especially Channing (who gives the best performance), is way too old to believably portray high-school students. Also with Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd Byrnes, Joan Blondell and Frankie Avalon spoofing himself as "Teen Angel" and singing "Beauty School Dropout". Travolta truly does drip with charisma, and GREASE was re-released in 1998 to capitalize on his new wave of fame following PULP FICTION and FACE/OFF. Songs include "Grease" by Frankie Valli and "You're the One That I Want" by Travolta and Newton-John. Photographed flatly by Bill Butler, GREASE was Kleiser's first film, and was reportedly hampered in his choice of camera angles by Butler. Choreography by Patricia Birch, who directed the ill-fated sequel. From the director of THE BLUE LAGOON.

GREASE 2 (1982)--Directed by Patricia Birch. Stars Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfieffer, Adrian Zmed, Lorna Luft. Makes GREASE look like WEST SIDE STORY. British Caulfield transfers to a California high school and disguises himself as a biker to win the heart of female gang member Pfieffer. Interesting only as an early showcase of Michelle's talents. Also with Tab Hunter, Sid Caesar, Connie Stevens, Eve Arden, Didi Conn, Eddie Deezen and Doublemint twins Jean and Liz Sagal. Directed by the choreographer of the first GREASE movie.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS (1988)--Directed by Howard Deutsch. Stars John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, Chris Young. Broad comedy about a Chicago salesman (Candy), who takes his family on a lakeside vacation and ends up sharing his trip with obnoxious brother-in-law Aykroyd and his eccentric family. Candy shows a genuine warmth on screen, and Aykroyd is pretty good in a variation on his E. Buzz Miller SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE character. Script by John Hughes.

THE GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY (1976)--Directed by Don Taylor. Stars Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, Kay Lenz, Strother Martin. A few laughs in this broad comedy/western about a trapper (Marvin), an Indian (Reed) and a prostitute (Lenz) who team up to recover a cache of stolen gold from bad guy Culp. "Cathouse Thursday", by the way, is the name of Lenz's character. Good performance by Culp; Marvin and Reed are over-the-top as usual.