WORLD WAR III (1982)

Tensions between Russia and America are rising thanks to a grain embargo.  And because of the food shortage in Russia, things are getting out of control, so out of control, in fact, that a group of KGB-led soldiers are airdropped into the remote Alaskan wilderness with the intention of taking over a oil pipeline pumping station.  Unfortunately, there's a group of National Groundsmen training in the area...the Russians kill them.  So now, thanks to a massive weather front that's holding back reinforcements, the only thing between the Russians and the pumping station is a second group of poorly armed National Guardsmen lead by David Soul. At the same time, the President has imposed a media blackout and is in talks with the Russian President, but things are not going well.

WORLD WAR III was broadcast as a two-night miniseries back in January 1982, but other than that I really can't find any information about it.  Was it well received by critics?  Did a lot of people watch it?  I have no idea, but I enjoyed it a lot.  As I mentioned, the story is divided into to parts: the leaders trying to come to a diplomatic solution and the troops on the ground fighting it out.  The American president (played wonderfully by Rock Hudson) is predictably portrayed as a sensitive man with a heart of gold who just wants peace, damn it!  And the Russian leadership was, of course, selfish and quick to kill people in order to get what they want.  All of that is to be expected, but still the negotiations between the two are tense.  On the soldier side, you have David Soul as a war-hardened vet rallying his troops in an almost Alamo-like stand against a enemy force that not only outnumbers them but is also better trained and better armed.  I found it very exciting.

Of course, since this was a made for network television movie back in the early 80's, the violence is pretty tame, but still I found the whole thing to be well-written and the pacing to be really good.  It definitely didn't seem like it was 183 minutes long.  I'd gladly watch it again, but then again, I'm just a sucker for 70's/80's TV movies.  Would make a perfect double-feature with THREADS.

MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934)

With so much talent behind the camera (W.S. Van Dyke, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and George Cukor) and on the screen (Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, William Powell, Nat Pendleton, Mickey Rooney, etc.) I was really expecting more out of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA, but unfortunately the entire thing is too melodramatic to be taken seriously.

The story is your basic Cain and Abel hokum with two orphans growing up as brothers. One goes the straight and narrow to become a prominent political figure and the other the local kingpin of illegal gambling. Throw in the fact that they are both in love with the same woman and you got…well, nothing really. You would expect for there to be fireworks, but the script plays it safe from beginning to end and there’s never any tension or surprise moments.

Worth watching for fans of classic Hollywood, but everybody else would probably be bored.

Interesting trivia: John Dillinger was leaving the Biograph Theater in Chicago, Ill. when he was confronted by federal agents and then shot in the back. Here is a picture of the Biograph Theater with MANHATTAN MELODRAMA on the billboard: