Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . moldy, Racist "Suicide Pact" from the 1700s (aka, the initial U.S. Constitution)--under which America still suffered through the early years of the 21st Century--is the core focus of this timely Warning from the Past on the part of the always eponymous Warner Bros. During JOHN PAUL JONES, the title character is thwarted at every turn by fat cat family flunkies thriving in the proprietary seas of their own incompetence. Rich People Greed again and again stymies JOHN PAUL JONES' heroic efforts to build an American Meritocracy based upon Democratic Values. These Evil Trilaterals' insistence upon selfish in-breeding among their own kind even throws up roadblocks in JOHN PAUL JONES' love life, first with "Dorothea Danders;" then with "Aimee Bourbon." Warner's clairvoyant prognosticators obviously are extrapolating JOHN PAUL JONES' sorry state of affairs (and sad affairs of state) to a day in (their) Far Future (i.e., our Present) in which an Oval Office Occupant will appoint First Daughter "Buy Her Stuff" to oversee his industrial-scale child kidnap and trafficking mob, while assigning his sons to initiate a private line to the Russian KGB as his son-in-law continues to launder a stolen TRILLION for the Demon Czar and his Oligarch Henchmen (this being forecast by an equally prophetic "Catherine the Great" in pithy comments too graphic to be subtitled for JOHN PAUL JONES' original 1959 audience, or close-captioned for we Modern People of Today).
kitablett-05623
And so ended Robert Stack's movie career. This turgid thing has to be one of the most boring movies I've ever had the misfortune to watch. John Farrow, the director of this awful movie, should have been ashamed of himself. The actors all look either bored or at a loss as how portray their parts, especially Robert Stack ,whom has never been more wooden in his whole career. The photography, despite the beautiful locations, is totally static and there seemed to be little editing or close-ups in the whole film. The audience of the day must have longed for the heyday of Errol Flynn in movies like "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" when they watched this turkey. An actual action scene does take place about 95 minutes into the movie, but it's much too little , too late. It's sort of like a bad school history lesson, which I remember so well. Charles Coburn is a welcome participant as is Bette Davis at the end , although the scene she appears in, with the "bring on the dancing girls, if all else fails" routine, is unintentionally funny. Even the usual brilliant Technicolor has a brown cast to it which makes the colour in the film seem annoying for the most part. If you want to spend over two hours being bored, do watch this film.
John T. Ryan
BEING THE LAST theatrically released film that was done starring Mr. Robert Stack prior to his appearing as Prohibition Agent, Elliot Ness, its stature and viewer-ship doubtless was enhanced with the name of Stack being now a household word. As we recall, the series was already on ABC when JOHN PAUL JONES(Samuel Bronston Prod./Suevia Films/Warner Bros., 1959)hit the shows.*AS AN HISTORICAL Biopic, it was somewhat more lively than many others; which often opted for a more Docudrama approach. Early scene of a young John Paul pitching some cackle fruit (that's eggs, Schultz) at some Redcoats. This happened in young Jones' native Scotland. This was most likely a mood setter and a dramatic tool.OTHERWISE THE MOVIE moves along tracing the life of who has been called "the Father of the United States Navy" as it progresses from humble beginnings to his famous quote of "I have not yet begun to fight!" BY STORY'S END we see Admiral Jones auditioning for Russia's Czarina Catherine the Great; being played in a sort of Cameo Role by the Actress of Actresses, Betty Davis.SEEING THIS WAS a big deal for us when we were in Junior High. It was a story that had to be told and could well be told again. The Historical biopic may not be the best source of learning about one's nation; but it is at least a step in the right direction; especially today, when the teaching of History and its companion piece, Geography, seems to have become a thing of the past.NOTE * The Untouchables premiered as a two part story on the hour long DESILU PLAYHOUSE on CBS the year before its emergence as a weekly series on ABC. The initial story concerned the bagging of Capone and his subsequent trip to the Federal Pen.
ma-cortes
Biopic about a notorious sea commandant , a 18th-century naval hero who became the prestigious leader of the American navy against the British Empire . This is tribute to the Revolutionary War naval hero filmed in big budget , spectacular scenes and great production design , though was pretty wooden and failed at box office . The career of Revolutionary War naval hero , John Paul Jones (Robert Stack) from his youth in Scotland through his service to Catherine the Great of Russia (Bette Davis) . It deals with his beginnings of his naval career as a cabin boy to the captaincy of his own ship . This came to an end, however, when John killed a member of his crew, a mutineer with a sword in a dispute , but because he would not be tried in an Admiral's Court, he felt compelled to flee to Fredericksburg, Province of Virginia, leaving his fortune behind . He went to Fredericksburg to arrange the affairs of his brother, who had died there without leaving any other family ; and about this time, in addition to his original surname, he assumed the surname of Jones . Later on , he greatly aids George Washington (John Crawford) and the American cause . With Benjamin Franklin's (Charles Coburn) help, he secures a ship from Louis XVI (Jean Pierre Aumont) and Marie Antoinette (Susana Canales) which he calls the Bonhomme Richard and ultimately meets the vaunted British battleship of the line, the Searapis, in one of the great naval battles of all time. It's a passable historical drama story where the protagonist , Robert Stack , is acceptable . Stack striving mightily to be shipshape as Jones . It is an epic and moving tale , as the starring fights enemies , taking on the risks of sea battles to survive in a world surrounded by powerful forces . The picture contains interesting drama , a love history , colorful spectacle , historical events and sea battles have some flare , being filmed in Denia , Alicante , Spain . This historic movie was realized with import help from Spanish government delivering logistics , props , soldiers and many other things . Being a Spanish/American co-production by Suevia Films-Cesareo Gonzalez along with Samuel Bronston Production in his first movie in Spain where he produced monumental flicks such as ¨El Cid¨ , ¨55 days in Pekin¨ , ¨King of Kings¨ , ¨Circus World¨ and ¨The fall of the Roman Empire¨ . Very good support cast such as Macdonald Carey as Patrick Henry , Jean-Pierre Aumont as King Louis XVI , David Farrar as John Wilkes , Bruce Cabot as Gunner , Thomas Gomez as Hopkins , Peter Cushing as Capt. Richard Pearson and final film of Charles Coburn ; including cameo appearances from Bette Davis as Catherina The Great, the Russian empress , Eric Pohlmann as George III replaced George Sanders , and film debut of Mia Farrow , director's daughter and Maureen O'Sullivan . Rousing musical score by master Max Steiner , this would be the last time Max Steiner would compose a film score for a film featuring Bette Davis , he had written several scores for movies starring Davis, and had been her favorite composer . The picture was professionally directed by veteran filmmaker John Farrow , though with no originality , being his final film . However , this sometimes tedious , empty and overlong epic sank without a trace . The motion picture was correctly based on historic events , these are the following : John Paul Jones (July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish sailor and the United States's first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolution. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day. As such he is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the United States Navy" . He later served in the Imperial Russian Navy. During his engagement with HMS Serapis, Jones uttered, according to the later recollection of his first lieutenant, the legendary reply to a taunt about surrender from the British captain: "I have not yet begun to fight!"
