Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

classicsoncall With all the colorful costumes and sensational outdoor cinematography, we never do get around to the 'pink tights' of the title, a bit of misdirection there I'd say with Sophia Loren in the cast. Actually, I find it difficult to pin down who this film might have been meant to appeal to. Nominally a Western, it really doesn't satisfy in terms of an adventure film and most of the scenes plod along waiting for things to happen. It was a bit visually jarring too, to see Sophia Loren as a blonde, although an early scene with Anthony Quinn introducing the characters lent new meaning to the definition of having an hourglass figure. Whatever tension there is, is provided by the subtext of Clint Mabry (Steve Forrest) fulfilling a contract for Bonanza town villain De Leon (Ramon Novarro), while trying to avoid getting greased himself by the bad guy's double cross. His play for Angela Rossini (Loren) basically went nowhere, and if you want to believe he collected on the poker bet with the actress, you have to fill in the blanks yourself. However he does have that exciting exit from the theater stage to help set up the finale, with a happily ever after ending for Quinn's Tom Healy and the beautiful Angie Rossini, something neither one was really counting on when the story started.

Spikeopath Heller in Pink Tights is directed by George Cukor and adapted to screenplay by Walter Bernstein from the novel "Heller With a Gun" written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien, Steve Forrest, Eileen Heckart and Ramon Novarro. Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Harold Lipstein.In simple terms this is Cukor trying to be clever whilst doing his only Western film. Plot basically follows The Great Healy Dramatic and Concert Company as they represent civilisation and culture coming to the Wild West. It's part spoof, part period farce but always narratively shallow. The costuming and colour lensing are sublime, undeniably, but these can't compensate for such a turgid story being performed by miscast stars.Quinn called the picture unfortunate, Loren (looking painfully thin and sporting an unfortunate blonde mop on her head) was unhappy with the direction she received and serves solely as a clothes horse, while Cukor himself bemoaned cuts made by Paramount that further damaged what he thought was already a weak story. Receiving mixed reviews upon release, "Heller" was a box office flop, and really it's not hard to see why. Even if there's some value for Loren and Edith Head (costumes) fans. 4/10

moonspinner55 In Old West Wyoming, a traveling troupe of dramatic actors is on the run from bill collectors; a cocky gunslinger comes to their rescue once the caravan hits hostile Indian territory--sticking around to settle a bet with the beautiful leading actress, whom he's smitten with. George Cukor western, adapted from the novel "Heller With a Gun" by Louis L'Amour, has a shaky beginning, a not-bad first act, but absolutely nothing to offer after the first 50 or so minutes. Sophia Loren, in peculiar blonde and red wigs, has a charming early scene getting herself into a poker game (bluffing with 4 sevens), and there's also a stunning, beautifully accomplished sequence wherein the dramatists give an action-filled performance in a packed theater (complete with Loren riding through the crowd on a horse). Still, Anthony Quinn's relationship with Loren never catches fire, and Sophia and Steve Forrest create little chemistry. This may be due to Cukor's direction, which has no magic (and he's particularly insulting to the Indian tribe, who hoop and holler over the left-behind costumes like a bunch of drunken rowdies at a frat-house). A disappointment overall, though small sections of the picture give hint it may have been a fascinating effort under different circumstances. *1/2 from ****

M. J Arocena The look alone is worth the trouble. Rich, colorful, slightly baroque. Sophia Loren is as good as when she's directed by a great actor's director, this time is not Vittorio De Sica but George Cukor and her timing, her intention as a character is total perfection. Her sympathy is not merely believable but contagious and sympathy was Loren's secret weapon. True, it's not your Ford or Hawks western if anything it's closer to Sergio Leone with a slightly more refined if not feminine sensibility. The showdowns here are not of gun powder but of love power. The Art Direction is superb and the film shouldn't be dismiss because it doesn't fulfill the rules of the genre. This is a Cukor film and that in itself makes it a cut above most movies. Anthony Quinn is also traveling unknown territory very successfully. Eileen Heckart is, as usual, a scene stealer: "She's only sixteen!, only sixteen, do you hear?" she shouts trying to protect her most valuable asset, her daughter, played by Margaret O'Brien wanting to be accepted as a 20 year old. An extra plus for film lovers is a glimpse of Ramon Novarro one of the biggest stars of the silent era.