TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING (1977)

[Update 08/29/2021: I just added some newspaper clippings and after reading the review...I really want to go back and watch this film again! Maybe update some screenshots also.]

As a child growing up in the early 1980's, I loved (and still love) those overly dramatic Cold War thrillers where America and the USSR nearly go to war or where Russia invades America.  I had hopes that TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING was going to be such a film, but I quickly discovered that instead of those evil Ruskies being the bad guys it's actually Burt Lancaster as the bad guy!!!  It seems Burt was once a highly regarded soldier, but when he wouldn't shut up about the injustice of the Vietnam War, the military "railroaded" him and threw him into prison on some bullshit charges.  Now he's escaped (before the beginning of the film...how lazy of the filmmakers) and quickly takes over a nuclear missile compound that houses nine missiles that are all aimed at Russia.

This set up could lead to all kinds of interest, edge-of-your-seat thrills like the Russians finding out about it and threatening to strike first or maybe some super exciting attempts at breaking into the control room.  But no, instead the Russians are barely even mentioned and the portrayal of the soldiers trying to get into the control looks like something out of an Apple Dumpling Gang movie!  Just to give you an idea of how bad it is: they have John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin from Cheers) as one of the elite military soldiers.  Yeah.

So that leaves us with the negotiations.  They're not too bad.  The heated confrontations between Lancaster and Richard Widmark are the highlight of the movie.  I also enjoyed listening to Joseph Cotten.  The others were passable.  And as far as Charles Durning as the United States President goes, he was good, but he's nowhere as impressive as Rock Hudson in the superior WORLD WAR III.

Overall, TLG is an interesting historical timepiece, but it's kinda surprising this film was actually released in the theaters!  I have no idea how wide the release was (according to Wikipedia it lost money), but it honestly looks like a made-for-TV movie.  There are many "goofs" throughout the movie and the 2 1/2 hour running time is totally uncalled for with the material showed onscreen.

I am curious (Yellow) if Richard Widmark wore the exact same uniform a year later in THE SWARM?

T-MEN (1947)

"Did you ever spend 10 nights in a Turkish bath looking for a man?"

People often never ask me "What film would be a good starting point if I wanted to learn about film noir?", but if they did, I would point them towards 1947's T-MEN.  It's a great film that kinda creeps up on you at just how good it is.

The film is presented in a semi-documentary style complete with a narrator.  The story is about a counterfeiting gang based in Los Angeles.  The Treasury Department has been after them for awhile, but the only clue they have is there's a connection with a gang in Detroit.  They send in two undercover T-men to infiltrate the gang.  

A lot of noirs have all kinds of crazy twists, double-crosses and sometimes even triple-crosses that are sometime hard to follow.  T-MEN has none of that.  It's very straightforward and a lot of fun to watch over and over.  Strong direction by Anthony Mann, amazing cinematography by John Alton, great acting, fast pace, impressive cast.  T-MEN is just a solid movie that should be in every classic movie lovers film collection.  Highly recommended.